Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center

Volunteer for us!

The ECC Volunteer Program is an opportunity for students, faculty/staff, and community members to enhance their University of Washington experience while gaining life skills and helping to foster community. Volunteers are given the opportunity to work within a social justice driven multicultural environment building leadership skills, networking, and creating a knowledge base in preparation for future endeavors. Please email Tey Thach at thacht2@uw.edu if you have any questions.

  • Skill-specific opportunities (event planning, social media, technology, graphics, photography, videography, email campaigning, etc.)
  • A sense of community
  • A deeper understanding of social justice on a micro and macro level, and a passion towards equity
  • A network of students, staff, faculty and community members
  • Connection to resources of services and opportunities on campus, in the community, and abroad

Opportunities

Volunteer opportunities are as unique and diverse as the volunteers themselves

  • Skill-Specific Opportunities: These are opportunities where volunteers can develop specific skill sets in a particular area of focus. Some of these are event planning, photography/videography, adobe suite,  social media, etc.
  • ECC Events and Programs Opportunities: These are opportunities where students help to plan and program Ethnic Cultural Center events. These also include ethnic graduations, ethnic community luncheons, and community service projects where the ECC has gone off-site to serve.
  • RSO Affiliate Opportunities: The Ethnic Cultural Center is affiliated with over 60 student organizations. Many of these RSOs do their own programming. For these volunteer opportunities, the ECC will help to connect you to an RSO where you will be assisting in their programs. Some examples include First Nation’s Pow Wow, Micronesian Island Club’s Fiesta, Polynesian Student Alliance’s Poly Day, MEChA’s ACE Conference, Black Student Union’s Kwanzaa, Minority Association of Pre-Health Student’s Conference, etc.
  • Committees: Committee volunteers usually need to be able to commit 1 hour per week for either one quarter or an entire school year depending on which committee. Committees range from conceptual to working committees and everything in between. Some of these include: ECC Advisory Board, Student Advisory Board, Public Relations, Construction Project, Procedure & Policies, Leadership, Hiring, Environmental Health & Safety, Tapestry (the ECC’s quarterly publication), etc.
  • Workshops and Facilitation: The ECC provides a variety of workshops and dialogues throughout the programming year. Assisting with workshops and facilitation will include anything from conceptualizing an idea, developing a curriculum, to facilitation the workshop. These are done in partnership and with the supervision of ECC staff.
  • Staff Support, Facilities Supervision, Office & Resource Management: These volunteer opportunities assist staff during work hours to ensure the is best serving students and the community. These opportunities will include helping out behind the front desk with copying, printing, tours, etc. to setting up tables, chairs, and A/V equipment.
  • Resource Fairs: The ECC tables at many of the campus resource fairs to help connect students to our center. Volunteering as ECC representatives at resource fairs will include handing out flyers, connecting on a personal level with students and staff, and providing individuals with the mission and values of and the services that the ECC offers.
  • Lip Dubs: As of last year, lip dubs (music videos combining lip syncing and audio dubbing) became a staple of the ECC. Being a part of lip dubs will include anything from the planning and directing of the video, recruiting participants, and/or being a part of the filming.

Benefits

Volunteering with the ECC will provide students with opportunities to enhance their UW experience, teaching them life skills to be successful not only at the University of Washington, but in the community. Students will gain an understanding of how their role in social justice and how they can be a catalyst for change.

  • Skill Building
  • Fostering Confident Leaders
  • Building Community
  • Network with Faculty/Staff/Student Leaders
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • Enhancing UW experience
  • Knowledge base
  • Preparation for future endeavors