Selected last week to serve as co-chairs of the Community Service Center, juniors Beth Brantley and Loree Lipstein are already outlining their goals for next year.
As leaders of the umbrella group for Duke and Duke-affiliated service organizations, the two have outlined several goals for next year--increasing students' active participation in the community, bettering the center's visibility, increasing collaborative efforts among campus groups, as well as executing established programs and promoting new initiatives.
"We both really feel like Duke students give a lot of money to fundraisers, which is great, but many students use that as an excuse for service," Lipstein said.
Brantley said the center suffers from low visibility in part because of its location at the back of the Crowell Building on East Campus.
She added the center has to compete with a wide variety of student activities.
"It's important we not get so shielded and blinded by the things we are doing that we forget we are members of the Durham community," Brantley said. "Part of our responsibility is to address the needs of the community."
Elaine Madison, the center's permanent director, said it has not undergone any significant changes this year.
Lipstein and Brantley have jointly directed the center's first-year outreach program for the past two years.
They also served as freshman dormitory representatives and helped plan projects for East Campus.
"I've always been passionate about service and I was involved in a lot of service activities in high school," Brantley said.
Brantley and Lipstein will succeed seniors Bunia Parker and Sujata Prabhu.
Organizations under the Community Service Center include America Reads, the Duke-Durham Hunger Alliance, the Duke University Red Cross and the North Carolina Rural Health Coalition.
The Community Service Center, together with its subsidiaries, will receive 4.69 percent of Duke Student Government's student fees allocation next year.
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