Ripple, a new student organization, aims to bring volunteer opportunities to campus so students with time and travel limitations can give back.
“I’ve been describing it as the inverse of Volunteer ETSU,” said Ripple President Emerson Couch.
Volunteer ETSU focuses on large off-campus projects. Ripple will bring volunteering opportunities to campus for students with limited time to drop in and do their part. Whether you have 15 spare minutes or an hour, Ripple has an opportunity for you.
Some of the causes Ripple hopes to focus on include human trafficking survivors, sustainability, health issues and animal welfare.
Member meetings will be weekly but attendance will not be mandatory. Members will be tasked with helping to plan and run events. Events will be open to everyone.
The idea for Ripple came from Couch’s favorite quote: “Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone; But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,” wrote American journalist James Wright Foley.
“Every little thing you do impacts more things and more people than you can see,” said Couch. “That is the idea behind Ripple, allowing people to make little impacts when it is not usually available to students.”
The first meeting will likely be in the coming weeks with hopes of hosting the first event in March.
“Ripple makes change making accessible,” said Chloe Campbell, Ripple vice president. “Having an opportunity to volunteer during everyday life allows students to create a habit of helping their communities.”
If you are interested in becoming a member, you can join the GroupMe or fill out the Google form linked in the Instagram bio at @rippleatetsu. More information and updates will be posted in the coming weeks.
For questions, email couche1@etsu.edu.
