Student organizations such as Campus Kitchen, which redistributes uneaten dining hall food to hungry students and members of the community, and Campus Closet, which accepts donations of suit jackets to ensure that students can dress appropriately for career fairs and interviews, are unique in their contributions. Contrary to other service groups that focus on the Atlanta community as a whole, these organizations are strongly student centered in their activities. Combined with a savvy implementation of their goals, they are an excellent example of an organization that locally provides service to Tech students.
Campus Kitchen and Campus Closet are valuable and innovative because they fill a place on campus that could not be replaced by a non-student or off-campus organization. These programs offer generous solutions to the problems that several students have, and due to their open operation, Campus Kitchen and Campus Closet have greatly lowered the stigma associated with asking for help.
The organizations derive their success partly from their partnerships with larger groups. For instance, Campus Kitchen works with Sodexo, and Campus Closet works with the Center for Career Discovery and Development. These partnerships primarily offer the organizations greater visibility. Moreover, the partnerships secure the longevity of the service organizations; though students may graduate, the backing organizations will still be there.
The efforts of Campus Kitchen and Campus Closet should be mirrored by other service organizations and admired by Tech students. There are several needs that need to be addressed by someone on campus. Developing an active, Tech-focused mentality and looking around campus to see what student needs aren’t being met will help foster a greater sense of community on campus.