CCO 2011 was a wonderfully sunny day and College Walk was filled with hundreds of eager student, faculty, and alumni volunteerst. Participants enjoyed the day from the commencement and welcome breakfast to the service events themselves and from the pizza party to the CCshOw. This year we added a CCshOw with performers including the Clefthangers, CU Lion Dance and TAA.L With a significant number of volunteers registered for the event, students, faculty, alumni and members of the surrounding community were able to participate in approximately 50 project sites this year.

Projects included park clean ups, Aqueduct walk park in the Bronx, serving food at soup kitchens, projects at neighboring schools. CCO 2012 is sure to be a huge success and we, as presidents have the lofty goal of exceeding the tremendous success we saw in the past. CCO is a long standing tradition in the Columbia Community and we hope to maintain its presence on campus and improve it each and every year. So if you're interested in participating or helping in the planning process, we would love to have your help. Meetings are held Mondays at 9:00pm in 569 Lerner. We can't wait to see you there!

Columbia Community Outreach (CCO) is a student organized, student run undergraduate service day that promotes community service on campus. Founded in 1997 by Columbia College students Allan Ng (CC '99) and Charlie Leykum (CC '99), CCO is a community service initiative that seeks to bring together the Columbia University community and raise awareness for volunteerism. Two of the goals of the project are to raise awareness of opportunities for long-term service and to form mutually beneficial relationships with the Harlem and Morningside Heights communities. Every year over 1,000, students, faculty, staff and alumni volunteer for a day and go out into the city to work alongside community members and non-profit organizations. Traditionally we have had projects within the Morningside and Riverside Parks, including painting benches, trimming and weeding flowerbeds and bushes, and general clean-up. Other sites to which we send volunteers yearly include Covenant House, A Better Place, and Habitat for Humanity. Profits from fundraising are donated to Columbia Impact and the Double Discovery Center on the Columbia campus. Since CCO’s inception, thousands of Columbia volunteers helped out at over 90 site citywide and raised over $20,000 for Columbia's on-going service programs. Over the last 3 years, the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) has joined with CCO to involve alumni in this day of service both at home and through alumni clubs across the nation and the world. Alumni in the New York area are encouraged to register and take part in a service project alongside their fellow Columbians, past and present. Many regional clubs connect alumni with each other and their local communities by organizing a service project on the same day as the CCO efforts around Columbia's campus.

The most obvious civic effect of CCO is the day of service given by 1,000 volunteers in NYC and hundreds of others across the world through alumni clubs. In addition, CCO encourages students, faculty, alumni, and administrators to pursue community service in the future by showing them the options available to them, and giving them a positive experience with community outreach. Finally, CCO is an activity that binds the Columbia campus together each year, as friends, student groups, academic departments, or fellow students unite to better the community.

Members

Alumni Involvement in Columbia Community Outreach

The Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) has been participating in and sponsoring CCO since 2005. Alumni and their families play an integral role in giving back to our global communities. There are ways for you to get involved wherever you are:

Alumni in New York City

Register now!

Columbia Community Outreach in New York starts on Morningside campus with Opening Ceremonies featuring keynote speakers from Columbia's alumni and faculty. You will be assigned a project with a group of alumni and in some cases students. Project could involve work with a local park, school, community center, or a non-profit organization. Bag lunch will be available, and when travel is required a metro card will be provided.

Alumni Around the World

Every year, alumni clubs across the globe arrange their own volunteer projects on the same day as hundreds gather in New York City. To learn if an alumni club near you is participating, or if you would be willing to organize a project for your local alumni group, please email Alejandra Kluger.

This is a great opportunity to engage your family in community service. Please let us know if you have small children and we will do our best to assign you to an age appropriate project. Please contact Alejandra Kluger with any questions regarding your participation in CCO as an alum.

CCO has finished. Please sign up if you wish to be a partner for CCO 2012

Become a Partner
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Columbia Community Outreach Partner! Every spring, CCO organizes acampus-wide day of volunteering in the greater Manhattan area. Typically, CCO has over 1,000 volunteers- students, faculty, alumni, and community members- who work on more than forty projects. If your organization has volunteer needs that fall within our basic project guidelines, please consider collaborating with CCO on Saturday, March 31, 2012. By partnering with CCO, you will provide members of the Columbia University community with meaningful service opportunities, which will strengthen their commitment to revitalize the city of which they are a part, all while fostering volunteerism and possible continued involvement in your organization.


Project Guidelines
We form partnerships with organizations whose needs for volunteers fall within our basic project guidelines. We kindly request that all projects be:

» Group or team-based projects: suitable for groups of more than 5 people
» Hands-on: direct service or civic renewal; not mailing, fundraising, or secretarial work
» Scheduled on a Saturday, March 31, 2012, between the hours of 11am and 4pm
» Supervised by the organization


Frequently Asked Questions
(1) How big are the projects that CCO has?
We have projects that take as few as 5 people to huge park projects that could take up to 75 people.

(2) What time will the volunteers arrive/leave?
We have a short morning program on Columbia’s campus, so volunteers should arrive by 11:30am at the latest, and they are expected to return to campus by 5pm.

(3) Who provides transportation and lunch?
We will provide a Metro card and a bag lunch for each volunteer.

(4) Can you provide supplies for a project?
We may be able to reimburse your organization for supplies purchased for your project, but more information about that will not be available until later in the spring.

(5) How do you feel about working with our residents?
We would love to as long as we can ensure that it is a mutually safe situation.


Register as a Partner Organization
We are always looking for innovative and constructive projects, and we work with our Partners to develop a wide range of volunteer opportunities. Some are focused on renewal and beautification (painting, gardening, building); others are people-oriented (serving meals at soup kitchens, visiting with seniors, arts and crafts projects with kids).

If your non-profit would like to become a CCO Partner, please fill in the required fields below: