by Lauren Joyner
Empowerment League is a big program doing big things. With nine amazing community
partners, students are able to volunteer weekly. The focus areas range from education to
sustainability, and everything in between.
“Empowerment League allows us to connect volunteers with so many opportunities. It’s so multifaceted that people can become involved in a lot of ways. We’re addressing the overall theme of human rights and human empowerment, but there are so many ways we can do that,” says Kirstin Buchanan, one of the program managers of Empowerment League.
Kirstin is a second year graduate student working towards her Bachelors in International Relations and Masters in International Affairs. Although she did not participate in Empowerment League during her undergraduate years, Kirstin found that the program matched her passion for human rights and service.
Noah Smith, a junior in Sargent studying Behavior and Health, is the other program manager and says that his favorite part about Empowerment League is seeing the impact the program has on the volunteers. He says, “I feel empowered when other students are feeling empowered.”
This program is not just about empowering its volunteers, but also the organizations it is
partnered with. Allies for Immigrants allows volunteers to tutor adults looking to learn or improve their english in order to attain citizenship. Students who work with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy help to keep clean and restore the Emerald Necklace parks in Boston. JRI PACT helps people living with HIV, and the responsibilities of the volunteers include entering patient data and documentation. These are just a few examples of the volunteer opportunities Empowerment League provides. You can find a full list of the community partners here .
Next semester, the program is planning on growing and expanding its impact even more. With a surplus of applications for the fall semester, Noah and Kirstin want to make sure as many people as possible are able to volunteer. They’re working to find more community partners to connect students with.
“Some community partners only want one or two volunteers which is hard when we get over 100 applications from volunteers,” Noah says. “Next semester we’re really shooting to grow the program so there are less restrictions and barriers on what we can do.”
If you’re looking for a way to get involved with the CSC, Empowerment League is a great place to start because they have something for everyone. Noah felt the same way when he transitioned from Wheelock College to the BU.
“Last year was a year of navigation and discovering what was here for me. That was when the CSC came into my scope and I realized this was something I was passionate about. I saw the community that was opening up their doors for me and I really wanted to give that feeling back to other students”
Applications are open on a rolling basis and can be found on the Community Service Center website. Of course, Noah and Kirstin encourage any students to reach out to them at empower@bu.edu or you pop in to the Community Service Center during their office hours if you have any questions.
The Boston University Community Service Center 