Engagement and Service

The Campus Kitchen at W&L combats hunger and promotes nutrition by providing balanced meals for low-income members of the community in Rockbridge County. The program educates W&L students by providing opportunities for leadership, engaging a distinctive population in our community, initiating nutrition programs in the community, promoting awareness of nutrition and hunger issues, and stimulating research on hunger. First-year students can get involved in Campus Kitchen through the #HungerFighters program.

The Bonner Program is a unique leadership development program for students with an interest in service and civic engagement. The program is based on the belief that students have the desire and ability to leave lasting and unique contributions through their community service. The Bonner Program provides students with the framework to continue involvement in community service, while providing financial support to help make their education more affordable. Bonners commit to 1800 hours of service and leadership training over the course of their four years in college.

The Nabors Service League is a student-run community service organization that strives to promote and encourage a spirit of service and to connect service with learning. In addition to connecting W&L students with local agencies through community-wide service days, the NSL team sponsors alternative break trips over Reading Days, Washington Break and Spring Break. First-years can get involved in NSL as members of the Good Nabors Program.

W&L's Campus Garden, located on back campus, is always open for student volunteers or paid workers, depending on your needs. Work includes planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting produce that goes to Dining Services and Campus Kitchen/Rockbridge Area Relief Association.

W&L's chapter of ESOL facilitate communication in Lexington and Rockbridge County through English tutoring sessions, translations, interpretations, and community events. In addition, ESOL also organizes service-learning trips abroad to Puerto Morelos and Guadalajara.

The Community-Academic Research Alliance (CARA) supports research partnerships between W&L students, professors and nonprofits in the Rockbridge area to address pressing community challenges, where projects are aimed at meeting urgent needs identified by the community. Through CARA, community partners are viewed as co-educators and are involved in different stages of the research project, including defining the research question, participating in its design and implementation, and shaping the final deliverable.

Volunteer Venture is a one week service-learning pre-orientation program for incoming students. The program introduces students to the poverty themes in cities surrounding W&L:  Education and Policy; Coal Mining, Nutrition and the Environment; Setting Sights on Civil Rights; Building a Home; Poverty and Health Care; Urban Poverty; and Hunger and Homelessness. Students will become a part of these communities for a week, living, learning, and working with the individuals they serve.

Our Sustainability Pre-Orentiation trip, which dives into a daily theme around sustainable development, energy and climate change, food sources, equitable food access, and nutrition. Building off that experience, our Environmental Studies Service Learning program offers students the chance to engage with sustainability measures in the local community while earning class credit.