SCAD SERVE is a student-lead community service initiative implemented by the university to bring together the Savannah College of Art and Design community with neighbors and leaders. On March 19, the program had its expansion kickoff which included over 50 students boxing non-perishable items on at SCAD’s “The Hive” residence hall parking garage. On the following day another 100-plus SCAD students, faculty and staff joined together at Sustainable Fellwood and hand-delivered 320 boxes of food to each apartment.

Regular operations of the initiative involve student service coordinators facilitating programs that serve local communities while offering students opportunities to gain valuable life skills. SCAD students work with local agencies in a spirit of cooperation while learning the importance of networking, recruiting, project planning, decision-making, promotion, delegating responsibilities and more.

Though the program is recently expanding, SCAD vice president of Student Financial Services, Scott Linzey, said that community service is nothing new to SCAD.

“President Wallace and all of SCAD has a very long history of volunteerism and serving the community. We’ve had a student organization for more than two decades called SERVE,” Linzey said. “That group has done a variety of things from beach cleanups to clothing drives to many more things to serve the community.”

Though SCAD already has community service programs, Linzey said that the university’s president felt the need to do even more.

“I think with the year 2020, and with the pandemic and all of the associated challenges, Wallace felt the need to do even more than what we have done as a university over the last 40 years,” Linzey said.

SCAD said Wallace, also the founder, worked with SCAD leadership during the last eight months ideating and creating this mission.

Through active engagement and volunteerism, SCAD SERVE seeks to make a meaningful impact in the university’s hometowns of Atlanta and Savannah on four critical areas of need: food, clothing, shelter and the environment. “We felt like there was a need to focus on the areas that most sustain and support life so we decided to focus on food, clothing, shelter, and then probably the most ubiquitous needs of all communities is the improvement or sensitivities of the environment.”

The first two big projects by SERVE will be an upcoming food donation event in a west Savannah community and converting one of their buildings in the historic district to workforce housing.

Visit SCAD.edu for details.

This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2021.