At the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & NIRSA members volunteering with Open Table Nashville at the 2014 NIRSA Foundation Community Service Project.Recreational Sports Expo, which will take place in Grapevine, Texas from March 30–April 2, the NIRSA Foundation Community Service Project will mark its fifth anniversary. This preconference event—held on Monday, March 30—offers members the perfect chance to enact NIRSA’s value of service. This year, the NIRSA Foundation is collaborating with Grapevine Relief And Community Exchange (GRACE), a nonprofit relief agency that provides food, clothing, financial assistance, and other vital necessities to communities struggling with limited income or that have experienced a recent emergency.


 
There will be many different volunteer opportunities at this Community Service Project:

 

  • Help at the Donation Station, a drive-through drop-off site where donations from the community are processed
  • Assist at GRACEful Buys, a resale operation that helps fund a large portion of the annual budget for GRACE;
  • Get a little dirty spring cleaning at the GRACE Community Garden, which provides organically-grown produce to those in need
  • Volunteer at the GRACE Food Pantry, which supplies individuals and families in need with perishable and nonperishable food
  • Help with maintenance at some of the transitional housing sites that GRACE maintains.

Registration for the Community Service Project closes on February 18, which is also the last day to take advantage of early-bird pricing for NIRSA 2015. Make sure to add this wonderful opportunity to your conference registration! If you’ve already registered for NIRSA 2015, you can submit a registration addendum to add this meaningful preconference event to your Annual Conference experience.

 

For more information about the NIRSA Foundation Community Service Project, please contact Community Service Project Committee Chair Gordon Nesbitt.