Club Spotlight: Rebuild-U

Rebuild-U is a new club at Penn State that focuses on community service. The president and founder, Rebecca Lerman, a senior majoring in business, believes that everyone can enjoy community service if they are matched with the right project. A better community service experience is what Rebuild-U seeks to accomplish.

Lerman has held multiple leadership positions throughout her college career. While involving herself with different organizations, she enjoyed being innovative with each one to improve them. She wanted to start something from absolutely nothing after capsizing on the leadership skills she needed. Creating this group taught her a lot as not only a leader, but also as a person.

Lerman touches on how there are a lot of philanthropic opportunities at Penn State, but not as many chances to participate in community service. Being a part of Rebuild-U involves hands-on service in order to improve the community, and to better the contributing individual.

An aspect that Rebuild-U prides itself on is the idea of achieving a mutually beneficial relationship between a project and a volunteer. There is a lot that a person can gain from community service, just like there is a lot that organizations gain from the extra help.

Rebuild-U is organizing a massive day of service on Sunday, Oct. 16 for the Penn State community. This day of service has the potential to be the biggest that Penn State has ever seen. It is designed so that our whole community can come together and offer their services from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to different organizations around town or in surrounding areas. There are over 40 partnerships participating, and to date over 100 students have signed up to join in the action. Participants can choose which establishment they want to dedicate their time to, meaning that you will not be assigned to just any organization. Additionally, everyone will be conveniently bussed to the locations that are not within walking distance.

This day of service is original and created to make a big, positive impact on Penn State and the public. Rather than a single organization participating, there are multiple, eager contributors and a variety of organizations asking for your help. What’s more is that volunteers will be able to see tangible results from their efforts.

If you are interested in being a part of this event, visit the group’s sign up page and choose the organization that fits you best.