The university's Volunteer Service Corps pledge drive "Celebrate the American Spirit: Volunteer" capitalized on the overwhelming support for volunteers following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The campaign allows students to choose and dedicate an act of volunteer service to one of the victims of the attacks ¯ and offers students a means to connect with their community.

"This effort has two goals: to offer students a tangible way to connect with the Sept. 11 tragedy, and to personally invite all students at Wake Forest to become involved in volunteering," Sally Sue Brown, adviser of the Volunteer Service Corps, said.

The pledge drive was sponsored by the Office of Volunteer Services. The office designed a pledge card in which students, faculty or staff could commit to a single act of service to be completed during the school year.

"Early in the year, 30 students were recruited to serve as campaign coordinators," Brown said. "They spent the month of September talking one-on-one with students in dorms, classes and at group meetings; and also made personal calls to hundreds of students encouraging them to make a pledge during our 'call to service'phone-a-thons."

Sophomore Becca Cook was one of the 30 students chosen to be a campaign coordinator. "I was really encouraged by the amount of enthusiasm the students showed," Cook said. "I know that we all get overwhelmed with things to do here, but everyone needs to realize that volunteering is an important part of student life."

Pledge cards were available at the Activities Fair, and also at a "Celebrate the American Spirit: Volunteer" table on the quad on Sept. 11, 2002.

Student organizations such as the Volunteer Service Corps, the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity and the Athletes Care Team agreed to sponsor the campaign by urging their members to make a pledge.

On the card were eight categories of service from which students could choose. The volunteer opportunities range from tutoring school-age children to visiting the elderly.

Once a student completes a pledge card, they receive a follow-up e-mail with directions on ways to fulfill their pledge. The e-mails included information about 50 different volunteer agencies and various contacts in the Winston-Salem area.

Upon pledging, students were also given information about how to dedicate their service to the memory of any victim of Sept. 11. They can accomplish this by going to the Points of Light Foundation Website to select a victim and complete a form about the service activity they chose.

"The connection to the events of Sept. 11 really makes this campaign special," senior Travis Greer, president of the Volunteer Service Corps, said. "The families of the victims will receive a list of all who dedicated a service and which service they completed after the campaign is finished."

At this point, the "Celebrate the American Spirit" campaign has received a total 1,074 pledges. "Although the campaign effort is wrapping up this week, members of the campus community can still make their pledge throughout the year in Benson 317," Brown said.

The coordinators of the pledge drive also plan to publish a list of all those who pledged and in which categories they are interested, in hopes that groups of people will connect and potentially do service together.