by Christine Pritchard

For the “Not So Involved” Student, what’s your excuse? Research paper eating up your time? Or maybe the amount of time that French homework really takes leaves you few free moments. True, many students legitimately do not have the time between work and class, though perhaps you are even one of the students who refuse to linger after on campus, rushing to beat the traffic out of the parking garage. Or perhaps you want to be involved in campus events but don’t know where to begin?

There are dozens of opportunities on campus (so you don’t even have to go far!) for events that are fun, philanthropic, and close by.

There is no shortage of events to get involved in. Whether you are in need of volunteer hours to round out that resume, or simply looking for an experience, there is an entire site dedicated to that through at the Office of Student Involvement. Events are listed from current to upcoming and range from Work at a Primate Sanctuary to Service Trips with Alternative Spring Break to environmental action with Keep Seminole Beautiful. These volunteer opportunities do require a little pre-planning, as an application is required. Head on over to the OSI volunteer site for details.

Key Event: Knight-thon is UCF’s largest run philanthropy project. March 31 2012 is the date for UCF’s Dance Marathon benefitting the The Miracle Children’s Network. Interested? Contact Knight-thon for questions about getting involved, registering and sponsoring here.

Greek Life on campus hosts a multitude of campus events. Past activites have included things from The Superhero Run (partnered with the local CASA chapter Guardian Ad Litem), a dodgeball event to raise funds and awareness for Autism, Boys and Girls Club fundraising, safe Halloween events for families, as well as A Hazing Prevention week and more. For the upcoming months you can expect many more events campus wide.

Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit group that works through chapters around the world to build homes for impoverished people also has a chapter within UCF. Ample volunteer opportunities are available through the group. (There is a $20 membership fee with HabitatUCF) The group has also included other events such Volcom’s Give Jeans a Chance, a denim donation for the homeless. The builds scheduled for 2011 have already passed, but you can still get involved for 2012.

Regular meetings are held, the next general upcoming meeting is Tuesday the 6th of December at 5:45pm in the Student Union room 221. If you can’t make that date another general meeting will be held on the 20th of December. For more information and to participate visit the Habitat for Humanity website, where you can directly contact directors in the organization.

Key Event: In addition to regular activities HabitatUCF will also be holding the annual Shack-a-Thon event. The purpose of the event is to bring different student groups and community organizations together for a few days of fun and fundraising through “building a shack with limited time and supplies while a festival of activities entertains participants and spectators. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Habitat at UCF’s student built Habitat home, directly impacting the issue of homelessness and substandard housing in the Central Florida area.” Further information and registration can be found here.

UCF Art Gallery: The gallery is located in the VAB (Visual Arts Building) featuring various exhibitions throughout the year. Hours are Tuesday-Sunday 11am-7pm.

Key Event: UCF Gallery Accepting admissions: The UCF art gallery has announced an open call to Central Florida Artists for a juried January 2012 exhibition. No entry fee, though donations are heartily accepted and cash prizes are available. Donations support the arts and artists in central Florida. Submissions are due by January 3rd and the exhibition runs January 26th through February 26th.

For entry information contact Diane Daugherty, UCF Art Gallery Coordinator at: diane.daugherty@ucf.edu.