Lehigh students work in area soup kitchens, tutor local school children in afterschool programs, volunteer their time to create a haunted house for each October’s “Spooktacular Event,” clean up walking trails, paint community murals, organize clothing drives and participate in the Lehigh springSERVE program, now recognized as a model for other schools.

It’s all organized through the Lehigh University Community Service Office, which was established in the fall of 1996 to coordinate efforts of students, faculty and staff in service to the greater Lehigh Valley area.  The office is led by former AmeriCorps VISTA member Carolina Hernandez, who was assigned to Lehigh to expand the community service component. Hernandez pulled together a skeleton staff and quickly discovered a rich vein of social consciousness.

Each year, thousands of Lehigh volunteers contribute more than 60,000 hours of service to more than 100 agencies devoted to the local community and beyond.