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Community Service Opportunities For Majors In: Natural Sciences and Mathematics
"Through experiences in and out of the classroom students develop the habit of intellectual inquiry, prepare for challenging professions,
strengthen relationships with their communities and contribute productively to society."
-CSUF Mission Statement
There is no question that our faculty, staff, and students are actively involved in the Orange County community. The Volunteer and Service Center (VSC) also recognizes the wealth of volunteerism and service in the community. In order to enhance the wealth of the students, the VSC promotes additional community partnerships to build your leadership skills.
It is our civic duty to shift the focus and internal concerns from ourselves and apply our unique individual resources by exploring the creation of knowledge with others. Community-based learning is a commitment by the students and faculty, academic programs and institutions to put our knowledge, skills and values to work to identify and address problems that are important to our entire society.
Research shows that there are positive outcomes by participating in activities such as volunteerism and community service. It shows significant positive effects on academic performance (GPA, writing skills, and critical thinking skills), values (commitment to activism and to promoting racial understanding), self-efficacy, leadership (leadership activities, interpersonal skills), awareness of the world, career goals, and decisions to integrate service into life after college.
An excellent way to complement the academic learning process is through hands-on experience. An ideal way to get this experience is through community service and volunteerism. This involves applying your energy, skills, enthusiasm, and desire to make a difference in your world! The following are just a few examples of how you can get involved in a service project related to your major or career interests:
- CHEMISTRY/BIOCHEMISTRY
Join stream walks, bay clean-up campaigns and help test levels of pollutants and toxins in bodies of water; tutor high school students and other CSUF students in chemistry; volunteer to be a judge in elementary and secondary school science fairs; visit local schools and encourage careers in the sciences, particularly with under-represented groups. - MICROBIOLOGY
Volunteer to help test pollution levels in local oceans or lakes, collect animal and plant specimens for environmental watch groups; tutor other CSUF students taking microbiology courses; offer to help doctoral candidates and professors with lab work; be a judge in an elementary or secondary school science fair. - PLANT BIOLOGY
Volunteer at an arboretum; help shelter residents, or people who are elderly develop garden plots in their neighborhoods; help organizers of stream walks document the effects of pollution on plants; volunteer in national, state, and local parks as a naturalist; take children on nature hikes; participate in lobbying and political action campaigns to preserve the environment. - ZOOLOGY
Volunteer in zoos, animal refuge centers, animal shelters, and animal rescue facilities; lobby for animal rights with an animal rights organization; do presentations at local schools on the importance of conservation and protecting endangered species; volunteer with organizations that help people who are elderly, ill, or disabled keep and care for their pets. - PRE-MEDICINE, PRE-NURSING, PRE-DENTISTRY
Volunteer at free clinics as an aide or medical technician; volunteer at an AIDS clinic; volunteer at hospitals, dental clinics, doctor’s offices, and nursing homes; be a companion/helper/aide to a physically disabled person; visit economically disadvantaged schools and promote careers in medicine, nursing, and dentistry; become an Emergency Medical Technician with your local rescue squad; present workshops in schools on healthy lifestyles and in nursing homes on the effects of aging on the body and health; help a shelter design a nutritional, low cost meal plan. - MATHEMATICS
Tutor other CSUF students, elementary, and secondary school students in math courses; help a high school students in an after school program prepare for college preparatory exams; visit local schools and encourage careers in mathematics; be a teacher’s aid or mentor.
There are many ways for you to become involved in community service and gain hands-on experience related to your major, or career interests. The following are just a few examples of agencies with service opportunities related to the majors in your college.
- Community ReLeaf
- Anaheim (714) 765-6916
- Community ReLeaf is a non-profit organization dedicated to volunteer action to improving the quality of life of our city by planting, preserving, protecting, promoting, promoting our most vital natural resources.
- Educational Communications
- Environmental Projects
- Los Angeles (310) 559-9160
- All volunteer Ecology Ctr. of Southern California. Offer: Compendium Newsletter, Environmental Directions radio series, ECONEWS TV series, international Directory of Environmental Organization.
- YMCA Anaheim Achieves Program
- Anaheim (714) 635-9622
- Anaheim Achieves in an-after-school educational and enrichment program targeting 2,000 children, grades1-6, located in the Anaheim City and Magnolia School Districts. There are 16 school sites to choose from. Volunteer to be an Academic Mentor/Tutor.
- L. A. Zoo
- Greater L. A. Zoo Association (GLAZA)
- Los Angeles (323) 644-4703
- Program trains volunteers to lead school tours and to represent the zoo in the community at schools, hospitals, and other locations.
- Earth Resource Foundation
- Costa Mesa (949) 645-5163
- Mission is to preserve, conserve, and restore the Earth to a healthy sustainable state by redirecting available human technological, monetary and academic resources.
- American Red Cross/Orange County
- Santa Ana (714) 481-5300
- Provides volunteer opportunities, training, skill development, youth services, group volunteer projects, AID education and community services outreach.
- Hotline Help Center/Teen Line
- Garden Grove (714) 639-8336
- 24-hr crisis hotline (Christian-based), providing lay counseling (no in-person), referrals to resources, crisis intervention, spiritual resources, teen line, community outreach through speaker’s bureau, training of specific groups, high school outreach, etc.
- YMCA New Horizons
- Tustin (714) 838-6452
- Provides developmentally disabled individuals with opportunities for socialization and recreation experiences with non-disabled peers that increase self esteem. Become a caring volunteer.
- Big Brothers/ Big Sisters of Orange County
- Tustin (714) 544-7773
- The boys of Orange County need you to be a friend, mentor, and role model.
- California Conservation Corps
- Pomona (909) 594-4206
- Work ethic program with a dual mission: the employment and development of young people and enhancement of natural resources.
- CSUF Arboretum
- Fullerton (657) 278-7066
- Please call for volunteer information.
