Social Justice Series Links and Organization Info

Hokies for the Hungry

Announcements, justice /

Get ready for Hokies for the Hungry – Thursday, Nov. 4th! (The night of the Virginia Tech/ Georgia Tech game)

This year, we  have a chance to collect thousands of cans and thousands of dollars for those in need all over the New River Valley. Over the last 14 years, the Marching Virginians (MVs) have been collecting canned goods and money for the Montgomery County Christmas Store to help needy families in the areas have a joyful, rather than a difficult, holiday season.

However, the MVs have to leave to enter the stadium to perform, lacking the manpower to finish the rest of the time.

So last year [nlcf] teamed up with the MVs to work with them.  Together we collected the MOST EVER total number of cans and dollars!!!

Please come and join us this year for this great time of service!! We’ll meet on the Marching Virginian’s practice field before the game. Find out more from your home group representative or from Mike Swann.

Stop Hunger Now Event at VT

justice /

Come volunteer Saturday, October 2 at the Stop Hunger Now: Fall Day of Service. The meals YOU package will be sent directly to Haiti with enough food to feed a million people. As always, it’s a football weekend, but don’t worry! While we work, we’ll watch the Hokies take it to N.C. State on a 20- foot projection screen inside the Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires. Sign up below for the shift or shifts of your choice. The event runs all day, with the first shift starting at 10 a.m.

Shifts available: 10AM – 12PM, 1PM – 3PM or 3PM – 5PM.

Watch a video about the Stop Hunger Now efforts in Haiti.

More information about Stop Hunger Now.

Register now!

Global Justice Organizations

global, justice /

Directory of global justice organizations that [nlcf]ers have been involved with:

At Ten Thousand Homes, we feel that a HOME is so much more than four walls and a roof; it is a place to belong. By building care centers in Africa, we are creating a HOME away from home for orphaned children: a safe and nurturing place for these children to receive food, education, play therapy, adult role models, and love. We also teach important life and income-generating skills. In addition, we build actual homes for those orphaned by HIV/AIDS, malaria, and violence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our ultimate goal is to provide “hope and homes to 10,000 orphans by 2010.”

Hoops of Hope is a volunteer run non-profit organization started in 2004 by 10 year-old Austin Gutwein to help AIDS orphans. Since then, with the help of World Vision, he has recruited other kids and adults to join him in his cause. By simply shooting baskets, they have raised millions of dollars to help AIDS orphans in Africa. The money raised by Hoops of Hope has been used to support more than 100 orphaned children, build a high school for 1,000 students in Zambia, build a medical lab and counseling center, and provide 1,000 remote medical care kits and bicycles.

Project H Design is a charitable organization that supports, inspires, and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design solutions. We champion industrial design as a tool to address social issues, a vehicle for global life improvement, and a catalyst for individual and community empowerment. Virginia Tech Chapter design projects will be focused mostly towards the rural Southwest Virginia region.

Least of These International (LOTI) is demonstrating the love of God by meeting the basic needs of small rural communities in developing countries through the use of appropriate and sustainable technologies. We focus on the key areas of energy, food, water, health, and sanitation as we serve the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40), following Jesus’ model of holistic ministry, the whole gospel for the whole man.

Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) is a professional sending agency. For more than 30 years, CVM has encouraged and sent veterinary professionals, technicians, and students throughout the world serving with churches, mission agencies and development organizations. CVM provides an excellent opportunity for those with a call to missions to use their veterinary skills and Christian commitment to serve others and share the Gospel. CVM needs volunteers for a variety of roles: short-term missions, state representatives, faculty representatives, speakers, writers, fundraising, and networking.

Empower A Child seeks to bring confidence and self-sustainability to the orphaned and vulnerable children of Uganda by teaching modern skills, giving them the opportunity for education, and enlightening them through the word of God.

Peace Corps works to connect skilled American volunteers with communities in developing countries for 2 years in an effort to increase diplomacy and transfer a needed set of skills to the host country. Peace Corps volunteers work in the following areas: education, youth outreach, and community development; business development; agriculture and environment; health and HIV/AIDS; and information technology.

The Life Project partners with non-profit organizations that work in urban centers and red light districts where sex trafficking takes place. These partners all follow a consistent model of caring for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women and children in these areas. One of the major goal of these programs is to provide safe housing, vocational training, and a viable means of self-provision for those wanting to leave prostitution. Through programs established by our partner organizations, women can leave brothels and still deal with their financial obligations without resorting to prostitution. Women are taught skills and given training so that they can make specialized crafts that can be sold in affluent countries. The Life Project buys these crafts directly from the women in a safe house or care program at exceptionally fair rates and then markets and sells the products to retailers. We hope to connect individuals with this simple and powerful way to rescue women and children from the sex trade.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve close to 100 million people in nearly 100 countries around the world. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people.

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries.

Nuru International exists to alleviate human suffering and mobilize developed societies toward social action by attacking poverty through holistic community development. We are committed to restoring hope and meaning to the lives of the poor and oppressed by creating sustainable, measurable solutions that result in significant lasting changes in the most impoverished rural communities.

Local Justice Organizations

justice, local /

Directory of local justice organizations [nlcf]ers have been involved with:

At Energy Check, one of our slogans is, “A hole in your house is a hole in your pocket.” We find that “hole” using science and data, and offer services that will fix it that will have a payback time (based on your monthly bills) of less than 5 years. Yes, this helps your pocket, but you are making an impact on the global front as well. The way we consume energy in our homes today, there is no way our power plants can keep up. If we are able to live in more sustainable homes, and be more conscious about the habits we have in the home, we will be making a huge impact. This way of living is mostly about having knowledge and being conscious about our habits and life practices. We have reading material, handouts, and information on our website that describe different ways to be more knowledgeable and more energy-conscious.

The YMCA at Virginia Tech focuses on its mission of “building community through learning, leadership and service.” The four main program areas of the Y include: Community, Education, International, and Student Programs.

Virginia Interfaith Child Care Center identified the plight of low-income working parents with infant and toddler children, who had few or no choices of good, affordable places to leave their children while they worked and formed VICCC in response to this need. Their mission is to provide high-quality care and education to the youngest residents of the New River Valley. VICCC welcomes volunteers to assist with a wide variety of tasks such as clerical assistance, writing grants or articles, bringing music or a project to the center, planning events to raise awareness and financial support, working one-on-one with a child, or holding a baby.

The Cranwell International Center is committed to the university’s global initiatives and serves as the primary support service provider for the international community.  The CIC promotes intercultural exchange, fosters a welcoming environment, and enhances the experience of all university and community participants. Opportunities to get involved include being an English Conversation Group facilitator, being part of the International Friendship Program, being part of International Street Fair, or being an Orientation Mentor. With over 2,000 international students on campus each year, the Cranwell International Center is looking for student volunteers to help ease the transition of our international students and to participate in our global community.

The Caring Pregnancy Center is a non-profit, non-denominational, non-political organization that is committed to providing compassion, information and support to anyone facing the challenge of unintended pregnancy.

At the Center for Student Engagements and Community Partnerships, our central mission is to coordinate and strengthen partnerships between the university and the community, enhance service and experiential learning activities, and develop faculty and partner capacity for engagement. Basically, the Center is a “clearinghouse” resource for students interested in giving back to the community. Any student or group of students with any interest can contact us and we will help facilitate getting you plugged into a service experience. We have strong partnerships with many non-profits and other organizations in the NRV. We also have additional resources available to you if you are already doing service work and need support. We offer grants of $250-$1000 for student proposals related to social justice/social entrepreneurship projects. We also have a “Hokie Hands Trailer” with all sorts of yard and construction tools, equipment, and other resources that may be borrowed and used free of charge by students doing service projects.

Regional Justice Organizations

justice, regional /

Directory of regional justice organizations [nlcf]ers have been involved with:

Habitat for Humanity strives to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world. To date, Habitat has provided over 225,000 homes for more than 1 million people worldwide. These homes are built solely through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials. We set up several build dates each semester for volunteers to build homes in the New River Valley. Volunteers are needed to build along with donations of materials such as lumber, sheet rock, or monetary donations.

Prison Fellowship partners with local churches across the country to minister to a group that society often scorns and neglects: prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. God, unlike the world, has always chosen to identify closest with those who are isolated and broken. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me . . . I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40).

Joni and Friends ministers to the disabled community by communicating the gospel and equipping churches worldwide to evangelize and disciple people affected by disabilities (the scope of those affected by disability goes far beyond the person with the disability; it includes their family, friends, co-workers, etc.). We sponsor programs such as family retreats, Wheels for the World, church and community education, media ministries and more.

Appalachian Service Project strives to engage students, faculty, community members, and Hokies worldwide in service by taking weekend trips to serve in impoverished Appalachian regions (areas that surround Virginia Tech such as West Virginia, southwest Virginia, etc). During these trips, we make emergency home repairs to homes in the area such as giving families running water for the first time, repairing roofs, repairing foundations, etc. We also strive to draw closer to God’s will and create lasting relationships with homeowners and between team members.  No construction experience necessary.