Partner Organizations:
The Green Heart Project
The Green Heart Project pairs Honors College students with elementary students to tend a school-run garden. General activities include weeding, planting seeds, harvesting produce, digging, building, watering, and helping teach the students sustainable practices. No prior gardening experience is necessary. Placement options are available at multiple elementary schools, both in-school and after school. View available options here.
The CofC REACH Program
The CofC REACH Program is dedicated to ensuring students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities have a quality college experience that includes academics, social experiences, career development, and independent living, while honoring their dignity and worth, and fostering their self-determination. Participants will be paired with students in the REACH program as social and academic mentors. First and foremost, the mentorship will be a friendship between two college peers. Activities include engaging in appropriate college social activities such as eating together in the dining hall, studying at the library, meeting for coffee at a local coffee shop, attending sports events, participating in CofC sponsored activities, joining a club or organization together, or just hanging out.
Communities in Schools of Charleston
Communities of Schools in Charleston (CIS) is a dropout prevention program serving the Charleston County School District. Honors Engaged students will partner with with students in local schools to provide academic and social support. Schools include Mitchell Elementary, Sanders-Clyde Elementary, and Burke High.
Kids on Point
Kids on Point introduces young people to the world of opportunity outside of their under-resourced neighborhoods through after-school academic, athletic and enrichment activities. Kids on Point participants receive rigorous homework help sessions, academic tutoring and life skills development from dedicated volunteer mentors. In addition, students participate in daily fitness activities – primarily through instruction in the sport of squash – while learning about healthy eating and active lifestyles. Kids on Point also promotes civic engagement by organizing monthly volunteer and service learning projects in collaboration with other charitable organizations in Charleston. Activities take place on the College of Charleston campus in Silcox Center.
Reading Partners
Reading Partners is a national education nonprofit organization dedicated to improving literacy in schools. By becoming a part of the organization, students will be paired with one elementary student and undergo a brief training before becoming a tutor. Reading Partners is looking for patient, passionate, and dedicated students to become a part of this program. At the end of the semester, they will have built strong communication skills and a meaningful relationship with their partner.
The Lonon Foundation
The mission of The Lonon Foundation is to help children affected by a parent or caregiver’s cancer diagnosis find comfort, heal and grow from their shared experiences. Students placed with the Lonon Foundation through Honors Engaged will assist in the planning and execution of UPLIFT, The Lonon Foundation’s FREE monthly program designed for children ages 6-17 who have been affected by a parent or caregiver’s cancer. Throughout the year, the UPLIFT program meets at various Lowcountry, kid-friendly venues to engage in fun and healthy activities with a community of people dedicated to helping them grow and heal from their experiences.
CofC’s Center for Sustainable Development
The Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) is a collection of students, staff and faculty who are concerned about and invested in addressing the many problems that plague today’s society. Collectively, we focus on applied research, experiential learning, operational management and public engagement – on campus and in the greater Charleston community.
Trident Literacy Association was founded in 1972 by Pat Gibson who used a shoebox of index cards as a system to keep up with tutors and the students they served. Since that time it has evolved into a well-respected, leading agency in adult education with a mission to help adults reverse the cycle and impact of generational poverty and illiteracy through the acquisition of vital life skills.
Neighborhood House, Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach
The mission of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach is to build equitable communities and empower individuals to reach their full potential by providing basic and emergency needs, education, employment and health services. Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach is committed to using the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion to guide our daily work, community interactions, and business practices. These principles also influence how we create and cultivate our teams and how we deliver our mission. We celebrate differences. We welcome and value all. We seek to help remedy inequity amongst marginalized identities and bring balance to uneven starting points in the lives of many.
College of Charleston Office of Student Wellness and Wellbeing
The Office of Student Wellness and Well-being aims to help students improve their quality of life while you’re at the College of Charleston. We help students to realize their abilities, strengthen their ability to cope with stress, be more productive, seek opportunities for play and enjoyment, and contribute to their community. As a student working with us, you will enhance the wellness and wellbeing of your fellow students.
Kaleidoscope is a Charleston County School District Program, which provides high-quality after-school care in a safe, challenging environment. Programs provide age-appropriate activities which focus on the physical, social, emotional and educational needs of our students.
Heart Math Tutoring (“Heart” or “HMT”) gives young students successful experiences in math through one-on-one, volunteer-delivered tutoring during the school day. HMT’s mission is to ensure that all elementary students develop the strong foundation in math and enthusiasm for academics needed for long-term success, by helping schools use volunteers as tutors.
Charleston FRIENDS of the Library, is a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization corporation established in September of 1982 to do what library supporters do best… fundraise to help support programs across all 18 Charleston County Public Library branches.
The Gender & Sexuality Center (Pride Center) enhances the well-being of our diverse LGBTQ+ community at the College of Charleston. Together, we provide programs, services, and resources in support of our students, parents, faculty, and staff.
The mission of She Tris is to create a welcoming and supportive triathlon environment for women and girls who want to complete a triathlon, regardless of their level of experience. By tackling the challenge of triathlon, we believe our participants will feel empowered to take on other challenges in life, be it personal or professional, and that the impact of She Tris will reach beyond the finish line into the lives of these women and those they influence along the way.
The Charleston Parks Conservancy is a community service organization that believes public parks and green spaces are important for the future of Charleston. They envision a community that understands, experiences, and values these essential public resources. Their mission is to inspire the people of Charleston to connect with their parks and together create stunning public spaces and a strong community.
The Cougar Activities Board was created in the spring of 1980, after students at the College of Charleston voted on a constitutional amendment (within the Student Government Association) to create a parallel organization focused on providing high-quality entertainment for the entire campus.
Collaboration with CAB is an opportunity to not only broaden the student organization network on campus, but also is a great chance to reach a broader number of students at The College of Charleston. Collaboration is available to all recognized student organizations on campus. All collaboration opportunities include funding as well as resources. In addition to those funds and resources, members of CAB will contribute to each type of collaboration with hands on assistance during the event.
We introduce and promote the sport of pickleball to all ages. Our goal is to encourage physical and mental wellness among every generation. We offer Pickleball Lessons, Family & Group Pickleball Training Classes and Youth Pickleball Clinics along with hosting tournaments and leagues in the Charleston SC area. In addition, our Youth Pickleball players have a sense of comradery and belonging among each other. Through their pickleball lessons, they are eager to engage with different cultures, resulting in better communication and teamwork, which bridges Charleston communities together.
The Cougar Food Pantry is a student led organization that was created to combat food insecurity while helping to unify the College of Charleston campus through collaboration and student involvement. Acknowledging the fact that food insecurity is a spectrum, the Cougar Food Pantry is accessible to all students on the College of Charleston campus. Our student volunteers can engage in our cause by working the pantry, organizing the items, and conducting donation drives. We hope that spreading knowledge about this issue and increasing student engagement will help to minimize the associated stigma and encourage positive change on our campus.
Affiliate Organizations:
Metanoia
Metanoia’s Young Leader’s After-School program offers academic assistance and character development to elementary school students who have shown leadership potential in the classroom. As a mentor, Honors Engaged students will work with one MYLA student for a year by assisting with homework, creating rapport, and playing games.
Carolina Youth Development Center
The mission of the Carolina Youth Development Center is to empower and equip our community’s most vulnerable children by providing a safe environment, educational support, and career readiness, in collaboration with families and community partners. Founded in 1790, Carolina Youth Development Center is an important part of Charleston’s historic and cultural heritage, a direct descendant of the Charleston Orphan House, America’s first publicly-funded orphanage. Today, CYDC provides programs reaching over 900 children, youth and their families locally each year. We care for young people who are victims of physical and sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment, as well as providing resources and support to area families at risk of having their children removed from their home.
Since 1978, My Sister’s House has worked to bring advocacy, education, shelter, counseling, and support groups to the Lowcountry. Our mission is to to break the cycle of domestic violence by providing comprehensive support, services, and education to our clients and community. College of Charleston students are working to create an on-campus student group to share this mission with the local undergraduate community.
Lowcountry Local First cultivates an economy anchored in local ownership, because local-independent businesses are the cornerstone of our culture, economy and character.
Charles’ House is a local grassroots, nonprofit group advocating for the rights of tenants that have experienced housing issues in Charleston, SC. We are dedicated to ensuring that all residents have affordable, safe, and decent living situations.
Charleston Area Justice Ministry, CofC Chapter
The Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), is a growing network of congregations and organizations who are culturally, economically, geographically and religiously diverse who come together to make the Charleston area a more just—in other words, a safer, more affordable, more accessible, more equitable—place to live, work, and do business. The CofC Student Chapter will function as a part of the larger CAJM network, composed of over 30 other congregations and organizations.
We at the Charleston Climate Coalition invite you to work with us on making Charleston the climate action leader of the Southeast. That means reassessing public policy, improving our infrastructure, and incorporating environmental justice into decision-making. We work to provide the community with opportunities for activism and support the voices of local disenfranchised communities to work towards a just and equitable future.
We are young activists committed to ending gun violence. We are Students Demand Action.