Stevens Serves is an on-campus organization and initiative that aims to increase community service and civic engagement for Stevens students. Led by the Office of Undergraduate Student Life (OSL), Stevens Serves hosts events that allow students to learn more about their community, grow as individuals, and give back to those in need.
As part of OSL’s larger mission, Stevens Serves is a collaborative effort between OSL administrators and students in registered student organizations (RSOs). The program falls under the purview of Assistant Dean and Director of Student Life Leo Pedraza and Coordinator of Leadership and Service Tara Roach. Rather than being an organization within itself, Stevens Serves acts more as a coordinator between different departments, RSOs, and off-campus partners to host events for students to attend.
Throughout the semester, Stevens Serves hosts various unique and repeating events that students can attend to volunteer at. One of the regular events is a volunteering opportunity at the Hoboken Shelter on Bloomfield Street. There, volunteers can serve meals, cook in the kitchen, help with clean-up, and help with administrative tasks that help keep the shelter running. Students can volunteer for shifts: 9-11 a.m., 11-3 p.m., or 5-8 p.m. To help, volunteers can sign up using the Charity Quest app or website.
Another regular event Stevens Serves hosts is a volunteer opportunity with St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church on Hudson Street called Lunchtime Ministry. There, students can volunteer in the kitchen with various tasks, such as preparing food, cooking, serving meals, organizing food donations, washing dishes, and cleaning up after the event ends. The church accepts walk-ins for up to three individuals, but more than should reach out to OSL to coordinate more prominent groups.
Beyond the regular events, Stevens Serves also coordinates unique events throughout the semester. These include a letter-writing campaign for Veterans’ Day from 2 to 4 p.m. on November 11, a community dinner at St. Matthews from 5 to 8 p.m. on November 14, and a hunger and homelessness awareness resource fair from 1 to 3 p.m. on November 20.
Stevens Serves is an opportunity for students to give back to the local Hoboken community. The programs and events hosted by OSL through Stevens Serves and the collaborations they host allow students to, as OSL says, “to foster, support, and sustain better relationships among community members encouraging and supporting students to become active, responsible, and just members of the community and neighborhoods in which they live.”
