About
The Only National Organization of Students Giving Grants to Students
College degrees should provide students with real-life experiences, not just textbook theories
Service should not be a waste of your time because you are doing mindless work that doesn’t use your talents
Students have the chance to use their knowledge and skills to improve communities across America
Mission
Students Serve is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides service-learning grants to innovative college students across the country. Through self-designed projects, students are able to apply the knowledge that they are acquiring in school to solve problems in their communities. The grants enrich the academic experience of the students who are implementing the service-learning projects and create meaningful changes in communities.
History
Students Serve was founded in the summer of 2006 by Angela Perkey, then a sophomore at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. As a freshman, she received funds from her college to create a self-designed service-learning project in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. As she reconnected with friends from high school, she realized that most of them did not have access to similar sources of funding. Determined to change that, Angela founded an organization to provide grants for student-run service-learning projects nationwide so that all college students could have the opportunity to use their knowledge by putting their ideas into action.
Sustainability
Students Serve is a unique organization because it is managed entirely by college students who volunteer their time and resources because of their dedication to service-learning. The result of this organizational structure is a low overhead that allows funds to be allocated as efficiently as possible. A grant from mtvU and Youth Venture will finance all operational expenses for this year. Close to 100% of donated funds will be used to provide college students with grants.