Giving
Giving to the Center
The Center for Civic Engagement was established in 2016 to support and strengthen the University's core value of civic engagement. Center staff work with faculty/staff and community partners to increase community engagement and service learning opportunities within curricular and co-curricular programming. Each year the Center also offers students a variety of volunteer and service opportunities and regularly promotes ways to get involved with local organizations. Additionally, the Center encourages civic education and hosts the University's Voter Engagement Coalition, supporting nonpartisan political engagement on campus.
As of Fall 2021, gifts to the Center will fund the Student Deliberative Dialogue Facilitator program at the Center. The program trains undergraduate students on important conversation skills and the students then facilitate Deliberative Dialogues across the campus community. This Student Facilitator program allows the Deliberative Dialogue program at Illinois State to continue to expand while also offering students a valuable opportunity to build leadership and conversational skills.
Help ensure the future of the Student Facilitator program by making a gift today.
Support Alternative Breaks
Illinois State University's Alternative Breaks program is housed at the Center for Civic Engagement. Through Alternative Breaks, students use their spring, winter, and/or summer breaks to travel to locations across the country and world to help meet the needs in the community. These are service trips, and the experiences allow students to learn about active citizenship by participating social action programs such as building homes for the homeless, increasing hunger awareness, tutoring children, and environmental action programs such as community, park, and wetland cleanup projects.
The Alternative Breaks Support Fund is used exclusively to offer partial fee waivers for students going on, and making a difference through, Alternative Break trips.