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The University of Tennessee

TeamVOLS

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Programs


Volunteer Programs

Alternative Break Trips

Alternative Fall Break and Alternative Spring Break Trips provide a great opportunity for UT students to commit their time to service and meet an amazing group of students. Instead of taking time off, students apply for a trip to do community service in another area of the country. Past destinations have included Philadelphia, PA; Dayton, OH; Washington D.C.; New York, NY; Charleston, SC; Williamsburg, VA and most recently Uniontown, PA and New Orleans, LA.

Applications for Alternative Fall Break are available the first day of classes, and are due approximately one week afterwards.

For more information, please contact the Alternative Fall Break program coordinators:

Applications for Alternative Spring Break are available on the Monday following Fall Break, and are due approximately one week afterwards.

For more information, please contact the Alternative Spring Break program coordinators:

Animal Outreach

The mission of the TeamVOLS: Animal Outreach Program is to allow UT students the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Knoxville's homeless animals as they await their forever home. To accomplish this, our volunteers spend their time at the Young-Williams Animal Center and the Humane Society. Both value and desperately need volunteers to walk dogs, play with cats, clean kennels and help with fundraisers.

In order to volunteer at either shelter, volunteers must go through an orientation session at the shelter. There is typically one scheduled orientation for both shelters once a month.

For more information, please contact the Animal Outreach program coordinators:

Boys & Girls Club

Carpooling from the campus, student volunteers can go play with, read to, mentor or just hang out with Knoxville area youth at any of the 10 clubs after school hours.
Presently, TeamVOLS visits four local Boys & Girls Clubs in the community each week: Caswell, Western Heights, Laura Cansler, and Vestal.

For more information, please contact the Boys & Girls Clubs program coordinators:

Hospitals

The hospitals program assists students with fulfilling the application and background check processes necessary for volunteering with our local hospitals. Students have worked with East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Parkwest, Thompson Cancer Center, and UT Medical Center. We also look forward to doing work with various medical non-profit organizations such as the Red Cross.

For more information, please contact the Hospitals program coordinators:

Hunger and Homelessness

This program works to alleviate the problems of hunger and homelessness in the Knoxville area. We work with several agencies including the Love Kitchen, a local soup kitchen. The Hunger and Homelessness program regularly participates in fundraising events such as the Hunger Hike and the Ramadan Fast-A-Thon. We are very excited to work in the community and hope that you will join us!

For more information, please contact the Hunger & Homelessness program coordinators:

Knoxville Beautification

This program participates in tree plantings, litter pick-ups, and park clean-ups coordinated by South Knoxville Beautification, Friends of the Fort, and other local environmental agencies.

For more information, please contact the Knoxville Beautification program coordinators:

Literacy

The literacy program includes tutoring and reading lessons to children in after school programs and various programs. The following are descriptions of some of our programs:

  • Sarah Moore Greene is located about 10 minutes from campus. You can listen to the children read or actually read to them. The time is really up to the volunteer. The open times to volunteer are from 8 A.M. until 2:30 P.M. The children are great and eager to learn!! Come out and help change a child's life.
  • Montgomery Village School is located about 5 minutes from the campus. Read stories to groups of three to four year olds in the afternoon.

For more information about getting involved, please contact the Literacy program coordinators:

Senior Citizens

Students organize and participate in recreational activities with senior adults at area nursing homes and assisted living facilities, ranging from Bingo tournaments to UT pep rallies, talent shows and "Senior" prom dances.

We frequently work with Northaven Health Care, an assisted living home located on Broadway just north of campus. Students can play board games, make treats, and paint fingernails. During holidays, we have parties and make cards for all the residents of the nursing home.

For more information, please contact the Senior Citizens program coordinators:

Special Events

This program features a variety of activities throughout the year. In the past, we have coordinated volunteers for HeartWalk, Race for the Cure and other one time events. We also work with various service projects throughout the Knoxville community, such as a park or neighborhood clean-ups. Examples include:

  • Ijams Nature Center: We do a variety of activities including helping with their annual plant sale, (in the past years) helping with the triathlon they hold, and much more.
  • Knoxville Zoo: We participated in Boo @ the Zoo which involves dressing up as all sorts of characters from a pirates, to Minnie Mouse, to some sort of a hairy beast. While dressed in costumes we pass out little treats ranging from pencils and books to the good old-fashioned sweets.

For more information, please contact the Special Events program coordinators:

Special Persons

Special Persons works with individuals with mental and physical disabilities. There are a variety of opportunities to work with them, including recreational, mentor, and fundraising activities. Opportunities for service are primarily through Sunshine Industries and Special Olympics of Greater Knoxville. Each fall, there is a Special Olympics Unified Bowling League, pairing Special Olympics athletes one-on-one with UT students for 8 weeks of competition and fun! Service opportunities for shorter-term commitments include hosting event parties with Sunshine Industries and assisting Special Olympics with specific competitions.

For more information, please contact the Special Persons program coordinators:

Sports and Recreation

Sports and Recreation works with local agencies in providing coaches, instructors, and mentors and in the fields of sports. We believe sports are an avenue to learn hard work, teamwork, discipline, and to have fun. We set up coaches for local Flag Football leagues and Basketball Leagues. We also work with many special events that need volunteers. We work with agencies like Boys & Girls Club, Emerald Youth, YMCA and YWCA.

For more information, please contact the Sports and Recreation program coordinators:

Women's Issues

Women's Issues focuses on issues facing women and single-parent families. Volunteers spend time at abuse shelters, the Florence Crittenton Agency, and with various homeless shelters dedicated to women and children.

We are working with Florence Crittenton Agency, a home for troubled teenage girls. Volunteers often spend some Saturdays with them doing different activities such as movie nights and board game nights. There is also a one-on-one mentoring program available through the agency. Women's Issues is also working with Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries (KARM), a local homeless shelter. At the shelter, we provide child care while the mothers take evening classes.

For more information, please contact the Women's Issues program coordinators:

Youth Outreach

In this program, volunteers work with kids on three level: pre-school and elementary school, middle school, and high school. Volunteers have the chance to mentor and tutor the youth of Knoxville.

Elementary School Volunteer Opportunities

  • Agency: Lonsdale Elementary
    • Age group: 7 - 13 years old
    • Volunteering Opportunities: Mentoring, tutoring, motivating parents to get involved in school, playing with elementary kids
    • Paperwork Required: Background check, Application Form and References (Professional or Personal) must be completed before mentoring aspect can begin.
    • Times Available: After-school is preferred (After 2:45pm) but can make exceptions for during school day

For more information about other opportunities, please contact the Youth Outreach program coordinators:

Other Contacts