Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering is a great way to get involved not only on campus at Purdue but also the community of Lafayette and West Lafayette. Since my sophomore year I have been volunteering with a couple different organizations on campus and off. For the past two years I have participated in Boiler Blast, which is one day a year where Purdue students go to the homes of residents in the surrounding area and help the household with several different types of chores. My first year we had to paint cabinets for the house that I went to and last year we did yard work for an elderly woman. So what do you at the home you are assigned to is different depending on their need. 

Another place that I volunteer is the Lafayette Crisis Center. I have been volunteering there since my sophomore year and absolutely love it. I have become a trainer for future volunteers and also am an on-call volunteer. At the crisis center, we have 3 different lines that we answer. We have a line called 211, which is called when there is a need for a referral to different human services programs, like counseling centers or financial assistance organizations, in the Tippecanoe area. We also have a crisis line, which is usually a caller that is having a difficult time and we need to have that open ear to listen to them. On this line we also get calls forwarded to us from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is the line people contemplating suicide can call for support. The last line we have at the Crisis Center is a teen line, which is what it sounds like… a line that teens can call.

Volunteering at the Lafayette Crisis Center has been one of the best experiences I have had during my college career and has confirmed my passion for wanting to work in this type of environment as a career. 

While at Purdue, you have lots of opportunities to volunteer. It could be through a fraternity, sorority, or a club on campus. But my advice is to get out there and volunteer!

-- Alyssa Schnaus