Â鶹¹ú²úAV

Students for Education, Equity, and Direct Service

SEEDS—Students for Education, Equity, and Direct Service—is Â鶹¹ú²úAV's Community Engagement program focused on building and sustaining programs that foster positive, healthy change in the world and are mutually beneficial for Â鶹¹ú²úAV students, local community members, and community organizations. 

Committed to enhancing Â鶹¹ú²úAV's academic mission, SEEDS provides Â鶹¹ú²úAV students with access to volunteer opportunities, fellowships and Federal Work-Study, and trainings and workshops. Through their work with SEEDS, students

• reflect on their position in the world;
• strengthen their commitments to social justice;
• build authentic, reciprocal relationships with community partners;
• gain skills;
• support positive, sustainable social change in and around Portland.
  
  

Mission Statement

SEEDS (Students for Education, Equity, and Direct Service) builds mutually beneficial relationships within the Portland community to foster sustainable and positive change. SEEDS is committed to enhancing the academic mission and supporting Â鶹¹ú²úAV students in developing tools for self-reflection and passion for lifelong community engagement.

Opportunities at a Glance

Depending on your schedule and interests, you can participate in weekly, monthly, or drop-in opportunities with SEEDS.  

Collective Voices Speaker Series

Collective Voices is a speaker series that brings local organizers, activists, and speakers to campus to talk about their social change work, discuss pressing local, national, and international issues, and invite members of the Â鶹¹ú²úAV community to become involved.  4 Collective Voices Speaker events are hosted each academic year.  

Community Engagement (CE) Internship Program

SEEDS's CE Internship Program houses Off-Campus Federal Work Study (FWS) and Community Engagement (CE/PE) Credit opportunities in which students can work for a community engagement partner in order to receive FWS or CE/PE credits.

Off-Campus Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program

Â鶹¹ú²úAV subsidizes the off-campus Federal Work-Study (FWS) program in an effort to promote connections between the college and the Portland community and to support students in finding meaningful work off-campus.

Community Engagement (CE) Credit Program

For students, two units of Community Engagement (CE) credit can be earned to fulfill part of the Physical Education and Community Engagement (PEACE) graduation requirement at Â鶹¹ú²úAV. Participating in community engagement promotes a healthy balance between academic and personal life and fosters meaningful relationships between Â鶹¹ú²úAV and the Portland community.

Volunteer Programs

SEEDS coordinates opportunities to volunteer in the areas of education, food security, health, prison outreach, workers’ rights, and more.

Â鶹¹ú²úAV Community Pantry

The Â鶹¹ú²úAV Community Pantry (RCP) is part of Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s Basic Needs Initiative. The RCP provides nonperishable food items, toiletries, hygiene products, clothing, books, and more at no cost to members of the Â鶹¹ú²úAV community. This resource is open to Â鶹¹ú²úAV students, faculty, and staff.

One-Time Community Engagement Event

Blood Drives

SEEDS partners with the American Red Cross to host four blood drives throughout the year. We encourage Â鶹¹ú²úAV community members to donate blood or volunteer.  

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Â鶹¹ú²úAV's MLK Day of Engagement honors Dr. King's legacy by transforming the day off into a day on. SEEDS, the Multicultural Resource Center, and the Office of Institutional Diversity invite the Â鶹¹ú²úAV community to participate in events that bring to life our shared mission to build mutually beneficial relationships within the community in order to foster sustainable and positive social change.

Clothing Swap

SEEDS partners with Greenboard, Office for Student Engagement, Residence Life, and Sustainability to host Clothing Swap events at the end of every semester to allow students to donate and take clothing and supplies.  Extra clothing and supplies are donated to the Â鶹¹ú²úAV Community Pantry, the Swap Shop, and community partners.

Stay up to date with SEEDS!

Follow and/or look for on-campus flyers to check out for upcoming events and community engagement opportunities.

The Office for Institutional Diversity (OID) sends a weekly newsletter to the entire Â鶹¹ú²úAV community that includes updates from the OID, SEEDS and Multicultural Resource Center (MRC).