Direct service is one way to engage with local community members and fulfill needs for those experiencing hardship and oppression. Through relationships with many local nonprofits, the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement is able to connect students to volunteer opportunities as part of our leadership programs and through a database. If you're looking for a long-term commitment or a one-time community service opportunity, you've come to the right place; we encourage you to browse our database (Galaxy) and combine your volunteer experiences with our other educational and reflective opportunities to become agents of social change. 

Search organizations and one-time and long-term volunteer opportunities in the Galaxy database

1. Members of the Drexel community can log in using their Drexel Connect credentials - click "Login" on the top right, then use the yellow button. Here is a detailed guide to using the site. You can also visit Galaxy's support website which contains clear, comprehensive how-to guides for whatever you might want to do on the site. 

2. The Galaxy database is easy to use and contains listings of nonprofit organizations, volunteer opportunities, events, and other information. To get the most out of the database, we encourage you to think about what types of opportunities and organizations you are looking for: what social issues do you care about (homelessness, education, etc.)? Are you interested in an ongoing or one-time opportunity? Do you want to volunteer alone or with a student group or group of friends? Do you feel comfortable volunteering in-person or would you prefer virtual? In Galaxy, the main navigation menu is on the left-hand side and you can also use filters in each section - that is where your answers to the above questions will come in handy. 

3. Note that the volunteer opportunities and events posted to Galaxy are provided by the organizations using the site, but many organizations may have opportunities that they have not posted to the site. If you are not finding the types of opportunities you are seeking, you should definitely search the Organizations and visit the website of organizations that interest you, as they may have volunteer and other engagement opportunities listed on their sites but not in Galaxy. You can become a "fan" of an organization as well to get alerts when they post an opportunity or event. 

4. The site is also great for student groups! Groups can create a personalized organizational page on galaxy to post and share information about the volunteer activities they facilitate and support. Galaxy also offers the option to sign up for volunteer opportunities as a team and also can help your student group post and track member volunteer hours if that is something you need to do. Please get in touch with the Lindy Center (lindycenter@drexel.edu) if you are a student group interested in using this site. 

Reach out to the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement at lindycenter@drexel.edu with any questions! 

Please also click here to sign-up for our weekly civic engagement newsletter, where we will highlight specific opportunities to volunteer, learn, and engage with us and other communities and social issues.