Why Our Students Love Giving Back to Their Community
Giving back to their community is shaping these students into leaders. Discover their stories and support the ongoing Student Organization Challenge.
From building beds for children in need and making sandwiches for hungry neighbors to spreading holiday cheer through handwritten cards, hundreds of 网爆门 students give back to their community every year through their involvement with their .
Now, it鈥檚 time to honor the passion of these student leaders through the , which awards valuable funds to the student groups with the most unique donors and the most social media interaction during October.
Last year, the captured the Fall 2024 Challenge, while claimed the Spring 2025 Challenge.
Every child should have access to a bed when they go to sleep. That’s the driving force behind the annual bed-building project. Student leaders like Ryan Edwards ’26 have helped build 132 beds over the past two years, partnering with the local Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter to get the beds to Central New York children who need them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most rewarding thing I鈥檝e done,鈥 says Edwards, SUVO鈥檚 vice president and a senior computer science major in the . 鈥淒elivering these beds to people is a life-changing experience. I鈥檓 so grateful to make a difference, and it鈥檚 so great knowing we鈥檙e able to enrich their lives.鈥
On Service Saturdays, Nolan Singh ’28 and his peers partner with nonprofits like We Rise Above The Streets Recovery Outreach, the Salvation Army and the Nottingham. These efforts culminate in 鈥淭he Big Event,鈥 the University’s largest student-run community service project.
鈥淚t’s a great way to get involved, meet new people and give back,鈥 says Singh, OrangeSeeds鈥 public relations chair and a sophomore political science major in the . 鈥淏ut you also grow personally and professionally while immersing yourself in the needs of the community.鈥
With the Fall 2025 Challenge in full swing, Edwards and Singh stopped by the “‘Cuse Conversations” podcast to share why they give back, how volunteering has shaped them as leaders and why every student should volunteer.
Nolan Singh: There are four pillars that make up what OrangeSeeds is about: mentorship, campus engagement, professional development and community service. They all tie in together.
We鈥檙e always looking to help our Seeds鈥攐ur first-year and transfer students鈥攇et involved to find their community and discover their interests. OrangeSeeds is a stepping stone to other organizations on campus.
Ryan Edwards: The 网爆门 Volunteer Organization connects people with places within the University and within the larger Syracuse community that need volunteers for community service. Any SU student can come to our office, tell us their interests and we put together an information packet with different opportunities on and off campus for them to volunteer. Our bed-building project is our biggest event of the year.
Edwards: The president, treasurer, secretary and I are like best friends. It has been an amazing process working with each other. By going through the highs and lows of preparing for these events, we鈥檙e able to rely on each other.
听Singh: We鈥檙e a community service club, but we鈥檙e so much more than that. We鈥檝e built a family through the experiences we鈥檝e shared together as we grow into leaders. It opens us up to a whole new world of friendships. I’m living in a house next year with a few of the Seeds from my year and it鈥檚 amazing to know that these friendships were built on something so meaningful.
Singh: You feel so fulfilled when you give back. The more you immerse yourself in service, the more you realize it鈥檚 not only impactful and making a difference, but it鈥檚 fun and you鈥檙e building community.
Edwards: As a student here, you have everything you need on campus. But I encourage students to go out and see what the community is like and learn how you can enact change and create something positive.
