Center for Civic Engagement

Learn, serve and lead with passion.

We connect you with opportunities to learn, serve and lead with passion. Our partnerships with community and campus organizations help you broaden your perspectives, build relationships, and develop skills to help you succeed in and out of the classroom - all while giving back. Be a part of the next generation of thought leaders committed to a just and equitable world.

Volunteers planting — Our Alternative Break programs help you grow as civic leaders and changemakers, and develop skills you need for success.

Bonner Leaders are pictured at 2023 graduation ceremonies. — Bonner Leaders graduate with a commitment to social justice, job-ready skills and friendships that can last a lifetime.

Student volunteers work the saw at a Habitat for Humanity build day. — Our service and volunteer opportunities help students stretch their perspectives on community and social justice issues.

Students create STEM kits for preschooler at a recent CCE service pop-up. — At our pop-up service events, students can stop by for as long as they'd like to help out local non-profits.

Two students cut and measure fleece for scarves. — We bring volunteer work to campus through pop-up events. Here, students are making scarves for the unhoused.

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Our Programs

Serve the community. Expand your perspectives. Look at old problems in new ways. This is what we help you do at the Center for Civic Engagement.

Bonner Leader Program

Bonner Leaders are part of a diverse community of passionate students ready to engage in the world through service. They combine education, service and reflection to become changemakers.
What is it?
A selective, four-year civic leadership development program.
How does it work?
Students receive annual scholarship awards in exchange for a weekly 10-hour commitment to meaningful service with a local community organization during the academic year.
Ready to apply?
Bonner Leader Program applications for incoming 2025-2026 freshmen are now open and are . Some slots may be available for rising sophomores or juniors. For more info, email bonner@cofc.edu or follow us on . Current students can visit our for program updates, too.
More about Bonner Leaders
Pop-Up Service

Every month, we partner with a local community organization to help them complete a ‘mini project’ on campus. Join us for a few minutes or a few hours to help these non-profits thrive, whether we’re building STEM kits for area preschoolers, assembling snack bags for families at the nearby Ronald McDonald House or making scarves for the unhoused to help them cut out the cold. Another way to learn, serve and lead with passion.
Current students can visit or Cougar Connect for more information on our upcoming Pop-Up Service events.
Habitat for Humanity Build Days

Looking for a hands-on way to build connections with the community, learn new skills and meet new people across campus? You're sure to find it all when you join us at any of our monthly Habitat for Humanity build days. We provide a free lunch and transportation to and from the work site. You just provide an extra set of hands to help a local family build hope and a home. Never picked up a hammer or prepped walls or floors for finishing? No problem. Our Habitat team is ready to guide you.
Follow us on for our 2024-2025 dates. Registration information for each build is also published on Cougar Connect and on digital signage across campus. Current students can also check out our for more information.
Read more about our Habitat for Humanity partnership in
Alternative Break (AB)
Our Alternative Break program helps you grow as a civic leader and changemaker. Along the way, you'll develop skills, confidence and a broader world view - important tools for lifelong success. Focused on social justice issues and rooted in education, service and reflection, our Alternative Break trips give you hands-on opportunities to learn, serve and lead in new and unexpected ways. In recent years, students have:
- Helped rebuild housing in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene;
- Actively engaged in sea turtle protection in Zakynthos, Greece, while taking a close look at the connection between commerce and conservation;
- Examined peace and conflict resolution through hands-on learning in Northern Ireland and Ireland; and
- Explored cultural preservation through drum circles of the Quileute Tribe in La Push, Washington
No matter the destination, our Alternative Break students share common goals to broaden the scope of their college experience and gain a lifelong passion for civic engagement.
Current students can visit our to learn more about applying for Alternative Break.

Our Alternative Break program includes service opportunities that can take place over a few days or a few weeks. In March 2025, this group traveled to Burnsville, NC, for four days to help rebuild after Hurricane Helene.
Volunteer Opportunities
Our partnerships with local non-profits can help connect you to an array of service opportunities.
Local volunteer opportunities are abundant all year long. Follow us on for updates on organizations looking for an extra set of hands for a few hours or even through the semester. Here’s a sample of local community organizations our students and staff have served:
Here are a few local, national and international organizations that are interested in virtual volunteers:
Current students can visit our for more information and service updates.
Community Partners

Are you a ��ϳԹ��-area non-profit organization looking for ongoing or semester-long volunteers? Do you have an upcoming event that needs a few extra hands? Do you need help promoting your volunteer event on campus? We can help you get the word out. Send us an email at volunteer@cofc.edu and a member of our team will be in touch.

Saving Loggerheads in Greece

On this incredible Alternative Break trip, students learned skills in communication, marketing, leadership and more. They also saw how failing systems and policies lead to a declining economy.

What's New

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