Michigan State University Selects GiveGab Volunteering Platform to Increase Student Engagement Through the "What's Your 110?" Challenge

ITHACA, N.Y., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GiveGab, the volunteering network, shared today the preliminary results of their partnership with Michigan State University's Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement to engage and track student volunteering efforts.  The program kicked off on January 20, 2014, with the launch of the "What's Your 110?" Challenge.

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The Challenge was designed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and also to commemorate the anniversary years recognized by Project 60/50 at MSU (the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education and the 50th anniversary of the passage and signing into law of the Civil Rights Act). MSU students and staff were encouraged to honor each anniversary year of Project 60/50 with one hour of personal service/engagement, meeting the challenge of serving 110 hours over the next year.  This yearlong Spartan service challenge demonstrates the MSU community's commitment to service and engagement.

GiveGab provides universities and their students, staff and alumni with the means to connect with nonprofit community partners who have volunteer opportunities, then log and track volunteer hours to report their community impact. Through GiveGab, MSU participants have been able to:

• search over 850 local nonprofits and sign up for volunteering opportunities in their communities, through both the website and a new iOS app;
• log over 2,800 cumulative hours, worth $65,000, to their volunteer portfolios (based on the estimated value of volunteer time of $22.55/hour from Independent Sector);
• connect with friends globally and see when/where they're volunteering;
• share events out to other social media such as Facebook and Twitter;
• utilize a Reflections Journal to write about their experiences and upload photos.

"GiveGab has provided our campus community with the tools to effectively engage thousands of students and hundreds of partners in service honoring our 60/50 Project.  By providing a promotion, communication and tracking system for this project, GiveGab has been instrumental in advancing the culture of engagement among our students and student organizations," said Renee Miller Zientek, director, Center for Service Learning & Civic Engagement at Michigan State University. 

"GiveGab is proud to assist Michigan State University in tracking their civic engagement efforts through the 'What's Your 110?' Challenge," said GiveGab CEO Charlie Mulligan.  "The Challenge is a great way to engage everyone in the MSU community in service, which benefits the region as a whole.  Other organizations can learn from the example MSU is setting by bringing service challenges to their local communities."

Anyone affiliated with MSU can join their community on GiveGab by visiting: https://www.givegab.com/universities/michigan-state-university.

About GiveGab

GiveGab is a social volunteering platform that connects passionate volunteers and good causes to help people share their inspiring service stories with the world. With its web platform and iPhone app, GiveGab makes volunteering easier than ever by helping users identify and sign up for opportunities, track their impact, share photos and reflections from their experiences, and discover new ways to give back to their communities.

GiveGab's Premium Services and Enterprise solutions allow nonprofits, schools and businesses to create in-depth, customizable reports about their volunteer activity and engagement, allowing them to quickly quantify their volunteer programs and better communicate their impact to potential donors and partners.  More information is available at www.GiveGab.com.

CONTACT

Linda Hall; 269-792-1390(o); 616-450-3181(m); Email

SOURCE GiveGab