Tech’s campus location in midtown Atlanta has forever allowed the good works of the Institute’s attendees to make an impact in an urban environment with help to food clinics, planting trees for Trees Atlanta and innumerable amounts of volunteer work around the community.
However, these may not be the most difficult to accomplish individually, but the organizations at Tech offer a touch of wisdom and efficiency when dealing with these projects.
TEAM Buzz is prominent in Tech philanthropy. Their moniker Tech Enhancing Atlanta Metropolitan is simplified to the mnemonic device of TEAM, and they work students, faculty, alumni and staff to collectively corroborate in community service events.
The call is out now for even more members to join up. Volunteering as a project coordinator starts next week, and group and individual registration begins later after Sept. 14 to reach the goal of 2000 participants in 35 different service venues.
A group like TEAM Buzz works through delegation and bureaucracy to be successful. Chair of Project Coordinators Marleen Kanagawa explained that delegation and organization within the process gently eases the students into a loose association allowing them to work on projects based on preference.
The project coordinators are required to attend only one orientation to go over the necessary steps and needed motivation.
Of course, the light touch TEAM Buzz specializes in leaves much individual motivation necessary to accomplish the goals.
Project coordinators must facilitate direct contact with the outside event and become acquainted with the event’s location.
This effort combined with directing and transporting their fellow volunteers may seem a daunting task, but there are many who would laud their experiences as remarkably rewarding.
“I had a great time, a lot of fun”, said Graham Miller, a second-year ME and previous TEAM Buzz volunteer project coordinator.
Mr. Miller is also the Philanthropy Chair of his Fraternity chapter, the Gamma Eta chapter of Beta Theta Pi, and whose involvement shows the deep connection Greek life has forged with TEAM Buzz. Additionally, the Betas and other Greek organizations have taken great pains, given much sweat and strived in extraordinary labors to earn a tradition of do-gooding for Tech’s community.
As a point of fact, Tech Beautification Day is but one of the Greek projects of Greek Week Philanthropy with the fraternity and sorority houses teaming up to gather over 1000 volunteers for the event under the Director of Greek Projects and the financial support of Student Government Association.
Mr. Miller said that their fraternities are more than willing to pour their will and muscle to projects off-campus.
Major projects including volunteering at Taste of Atlanta, the Goshen Valley Boy’s Ranch, and the Dogwood Festival are filed under their usual annual events.
Moving away from the Greek society, there are more specific organizations of Georgia Tech that take time to help others.
Humanitech, a purely student volunteer organization, provides technical support as part of their mission to improve the efficiency and capabilities of individual humanitarian projects.
This organization’s goals seem phantasmal but perhaps it is only because they are a new organization whose kick-off meeting for the fall is sitting just a week away on Sept. 3.
Either way, Tech students always manage to find time out of their busy schedules to help out in the community and hopefully improve the lives of others.