The University is known for filling Baton Rouge with the electricity of LSU football. But when Tiger Stadium empties, another important facet of the University still pervades the community — its long-standing tradition of service.The University’s service efforts were one factor which recently put it on Washington Monthly’s 2009 list of best colleges, which recognizes excellence in contribution to the public good based on categories including research, social mobility and service. A new Web site dedicated to service in the campus community is being developed in conjunction with the University’s sesquicentennial, or 150th, anniversary.The site, LSU Serves the World, launches in January 2010. It will spotlight the University’s role in the community through volunteerism and service learning, said Jan Shoemaker, co-chair of the site’s committee.In addition to telling the service stories of members of the LSU community, the site will provide resources to get new volunteers involved in community service.”In this online mechanism, visitors can learn more about community engagement and find opportunities for service activities with campus, city, state, national and international groups,” Shoemaker said.Sesquicentennial organizers partnered with several service organizations to bring LSU Serves the World to life. One of those is Volunteer LSU, a student organization dedicated to improving the Baton Rouge community.”It started in May 2006 after Hurricane Katrina,” said Millena Williams, student director of Volunteer LSU. “A group of about five students came together and created the organization in response to that and to have an entity where students can connect to find volunteer opportunities on campus and off.”One of the bigger projects Volunteer LSU works on is Community Bound, a project targeted at incoming freshmen occurring before each academic year begins. This year, Volunteer LSU brought 520 registered volunteers to area elementary and high schools and performed maintenance to prepare for the school year.Many freshmen who participate in Community Bound come back to Volunteer LSU for future projects, Williams said.Volunteer LSU works closely on Community Bound with the Honors College, which emphasizes service to its students.”We tell honors students, ‘You can use your talents and gifts for your own good, or you can use them for the greater good,'” said Mark Dochterman, student activities coordinator for the Honors College.Amanda Glinky, microbiology senior and honors student, prepared a summer program for top students from low resource high schools to take art classes and learn about college preparation.”They’re thinking about what they might do in the future,” Glinky said. “We want to spark interest in college and give them the confidence to say, ‘I can go to college, and this is how I’m going to do it.'”Another influential University group striving for service is Greek Life. Each fraternity and sorority has philanthropy commitments to both national and local organizations, but each year they all come together with Habitat for Humanity during “Greek Week” to build homes for needy families.Greek organizations have raised more than $100,000 for the homes during five of the last six years, said Angela Guillory, assistant dean of Greek Life.”To watch, in seven days, nothing but a concrete foundation transform into a home is phenomenal,” Guillory said. “To know you were a part of that is amazing.”Though Greek Week is a big part of Habitat for Humanity’s work with the University, there is also an LSU chapter of the organization building homes every Saturday.The students build homes from the ground up for families who work with the organization to construct the home they need, said Nicole Okechukwu, vice president of Habitat for Humanity at LSU.”In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor — sweat equity — into building their Habitat house and the houses of others,” Okechukwu said.Okechukwu said organizations like Habitat for Humanity help students step back from academics and look at the bigger picture and the real world.”Being involved with my academic plan puts me in a bubble,” she said. “Sometimes I’m only concerned about my future, but being involved with Habitat bursts my bubble.”—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]