Opening Doors on Campus

Students with disabilities watch their brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends go off to college, rarely having the opportunity to benefit from campus life themselves. While there are exciting, new opportunities for some students with disabilities to attend college, people with more significant disabilities are still left out.

Integrate for Good partners with local colleges and universities to make a meaningful place for people with all abilities to engage on campus through inclusive volunteerism and leadership opportunities.

Overview

Opening Doors on Campus is centered around inclusive volunteering. This is a type of volunteering where everyone is involved and valued. We foster this inclusive environment in four different ways.

We believe in finding a place for everyone. Individuals’ strengths and interests bring so much value to our community, so we celebrate both our similarities and differences! When joining our volunteering events, we help everyone find a task that works uniquely for them!

We believe that using first names is a powerful way to build connections, so everyone is on a first name basis! We ask for all of our volunteers to make a name tag with their preferred first name and pronouns. This way, making new friends is as easy as saying, “Hi__!”

We believe that teamwork makes the dream work! We are better when we share our diverse backgrounds and skillsets with one another. Each person’s individuality betters our team, so we value anything and everything our volunteers bring to the table.

We believe in the ability in disability. No matter who you are or where you are in life, we welcome you.

Leadership

Opening Doors on Campus also offers leadership opportunities for students with disabilities. At each volunteer session, we have a member of our staff present, as well as a student leader representing each university. We partner with university programs that allow students with disabilities to lead within our programs as a way to gain internship credits. Student leaders are responsible for greeting volunteers as they enter, promoting our projects on campus and teaching others how to perform our volunteer activities.

Want to meet some of our student leaders? Currently, we are on three different college campuses one or two times per week running 90-minute volunteer blocks. Our current Opening Doors on Campus partners include Ursinus College, West Chester University, and Gwynedd Mercy University.

Join Us

Be a part of our inclusive community by joining Integrate for Good’s Opening Doors on Campus initiative. While our events are on pause during the summer, we look forward to welcoming you back in the fall for meaningful volunteer opportunities. We partner with local colleges to create spaces where people of all abilities can contribute and thrive. To be the first to know when we’re back on campus at Ursinus College, West Chester University, and Gwynedd Mercy University, subscribe to our newsletter below. Join us in making a difference!

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