Community Service

At Roanoke College we're interested in serving others.

You can make a difference through a variety of agencies and projects throughout the Roanoke Valley and beyond. Through work with local partners who deal with education, housing and hunger, you can help others while enhancing your education.

We all pitch in!

Watch Video three students building a Habitat house
Each year during orientation, all incoming students work with Habitat for Humanity to build a new house for a family in need in the Roanoke Valley. As part of the construction team, you’ll receive hands-on experience, from raising the walls to hammering down the roof sheathing.

Make the most of school breaks

Every year we host service breaks where you can work with Roanoke friends to help needy families and children here in the U.S. and overseas. Here are some examples of service breaks we've hosted in recent years:

Students working with Habitat for Humanity in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, S.C.

Fall and spring break construction projects with Habitat for Humanity.

A group of students who worked with Habitat for Humanity in St. Paul, Virginia

St. Paul, Va.

Fall weekend project with Appalachian Plunge.

A Roanoke college student working with Constru Casa in Guatemala

Guatemala

Winter break construction project with Constru Casa, building basic homes for needy families.

Students posing by a mostly-finished home that they built in New Orleans

New Orleans, La.

Winter break project building new homes and rehabilitating homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Student posing with a young girl from Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Spring break immersion-live and work with villagers in one of the country's poorest communities, helping them with community construction projects

Students preparing meals to give to the homeless in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Alternative weekend preparing and serving healthy meals to homeless people in our nation's capital.

Giving Back

Student posing for a picture with a group of young boys
Students getting food and smiling
Students working with Habitat for Humanity during orientation
Students working on a garden
Students posing in front of multiple bags of trash
Student working on a house in Guatemala
Student with a dog sitting on top of a pile of bricks
Students working on laying down bricks
Students fixing up a small building outside

Our students have many opportunities to serve at the local, national and international levels.