West Virginia University has thrown down a gauntlet for goodness: Students, faculty and staff are urging state residents to match them in completing one million hours of community service by 2018.

The end result? A total of two million service hours in three years.

That’s a ton of good deeds.

WVU held its kickoff party for the Million Hour Match initiative today (Nov. 17) in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. President Gordon Gee, Morgantown Mayor Jenny Selin and student leaders made brief remarks.

“After recent post-win events, now is the time for big ideas,” said Timothy Bedunah, a world literature and linguistics junior from Flatwoods. “Besides the obvious service to our Morgantown community and this amazing state, we will be strengthening campus-community connections. In addition, this will strengthen the relationship between WVU and other key players in the state to create a sustainable model for volunteering and service-learning that will leverage the University’s expertise to become a nationally sought after resource.”

Bendunah said he wanted to get involved because he saw “a need among him and his friends.”

“We all want to make our degrees here mean something more than studying countless hours in the library,” he said. “Students want to be connected to their school and state. I believe in President Gee’s idea of One WV and this is the best way I saw to do my part.”

The Million Hour Match is a collaborative initiative between WVU, Volunteer WV and the Cooperation for National and Community Service. The WVU Center for Service and Learning has been at the forefront of organizing the project, and the Million Hour Match is just a glimpse at what the Center accomplishes everyday, Denzine said.

University officials believe the Million Hour Match will not only connect available resources to citizens and communities throughout the state but will also afford student opportunities for civic engagement.

“Volunteering is a solid pathway to employment,” said Associate Provost for Community Engagement and Outreach Gypsy Denzine. “Students, as well as residents who have been out of work, have higher odds of finding a job than non-volunteers. This will help volunteers gain skills, experience and contacts that can be beneficial in finding employment.

“By leading this initiative, WVU would be the first public institution to make this kind of commitment to its state and residents,” Denzine said. “WVU has the opportunity to develop a sustainable model that will revolutionize campus-community connections, paving the way for unprecedented growth and opportunity for West Virginia.”

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use iServe, WVU’s online service management system and the only system of its kind in the state, to track their hours.

In 2013, WVU students logged 61,517 hours of community service.

Officials estimate the value of volunteer time in 2013 was $22.55 per hour. If the Million Hour Match reaches its goal of two million total hours, that would account for $45.1 million.

“But the million hours of learning gained by students through service is priceless,” Denzine said.

For more information, visit the Million Hour Match Facebook page.

-WVU-

js/11/17/14

CONTACT: University Relations/News
304.293.6997

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.