By Jill Nagy
For at least 25 years, community service has been a part of life for Skidmore College students. Currently, approximately 50 percent, including all 400 athletes, participate in fundraising or community service activities, according to Michelle Hubbs, coordinator of the Community Service Office at the college.
The office serves as a liaison between Skidmore and more than 40 nonprofit agencies in the Saratoga area. Projects are student initiated and directed, Hubbs said, and she provides support and acts as a resource.
Projects vary. One student set out to raise money for an HIV orphanage in Vietnam. He planned a chili contest with volunteer chefs on Earth Day 2016. Other students tutor elementary students and pre-schoolers.
A club called Feedmore collects unused food from the campus dining hall and delivers it to the soup kitchen at the New England Congregational Church. The volunteers have sent 3,100 pounds of food so far this year, according to Hubbs.
Another group works with the Sustainability Office to use compost in the community garden. Students in FeelGood make grilled cheese sandwiches several times a week and sell them to raise money for a national organization dedicated to ending world poverty. The Residential Life program engages students in projects to raise money to provide holiday gifts for local children. Last holiday season, they raised $3,000 to provide gifts for 11 children.
In addition to fostering student projects, Hubbs works with faculty and staff members on projects like arranging service opportunities for athletic teams and developing connections for an applied-civic-engagement class.
She has also worked with students to arrange campus visits and programs for students in the “sponsor a scholar” program at Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa high schools.
Community service also permeates the academic curriculum. Hubbs estimated that 600 students a year take classes with a community service component.
Hubbs has been coordinator of the office since 2001, when she came on as a part-time director. The position became full time in 2007. Her only staff is a student assistant who works six hours a week. However, as part of the Campus Life and Engagement office, she can draw on other members of that division for help with projects, she said.
Before coming to Skidmore, Hubbs was director of membership and marketing for the Glens Falls YMCA. Before that, she was director of administrative services at the Doane Stuart School.
“I thoroughly enjoy my job for several reason,” she said. “I get real satisfaction from working with the college age group. I have the opportunity to watch the students grow over four years. I love watching their projects come into fruition. I love working with the Saratoga community service agencies and making meaningful connections between the students and the greater community.”