Thinking globally, acting locally: How OU GIVE combines travel and community service

At OHIO, a student organization is finding ways to make a difference at home and across the world. 

The group is the local chapter of Growth International Volunteer Excursions (GIVE). The national organization hosts volunteer trips for young adults in places like Tanzania, Costa Rica and Laos. But the students here on campus are just as focused on what happens right here in Ohio. 

Grace Munro and Macayla Krantz help lead the group. Both are third-year nursing majors. Munro serves as the president of the club, and Krantz serves as the treasurer. They joined forces to help build an outlet for students who care about giving back and protecting the environment.

Students in the university chapter do not have to travel abroad. Much of the group’s work happens right here in the Athens area. 

“As a student org, we are focused on volunteering around the Athens community, and we do a lot of things too for the environment because it's one of the pillars of GIVE,” Munro says. 

Members regularly step out into the community to help. They recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity in Nelsonville to help put siding on a house using power tools. The group also picks up trash around campus, donates materials to Books to Prisoners and makes cards for nursing home and hospice patients.

For students who want to take their service overseas, the student club acts as a gateway to the national organization. 

Munro recently went on a volunteer trip to Thailand. The experience went far beyond typical tourism. The volunteers bathed elephants in a local river and engaged in a variety of local outreach efforts. 

“Some of the things we did were teaching kids English,” Munro says. “We did a lot of permaculture projects where we're doing projects outside to foster growth and protect the culture.” 

The trip emphasized ethical and sustainable travel. Instead of visiting heavy tourist spots, the volunteers worked directly with locals. 

“We're in rural communities and we're supporting rural people, and we're not just going into these big tourist areas and going to these places that are not ethical and doing more harm than they are good,” Munro explains. 

For Munro, traveling alone to Thailand forced her out of her comfort zone. But she quickly built close bonds with volunteers from all across the country. They still talk regularly and are even planning a meetup in Hawaii.

Back on campus, the student group focuses on building that same kind of community. The club meets bi-weekly. It is a low-pressure environment where students socialize and plan future events. 

Sometimes, they host fun sustainability workshops, like making bookmarks out of recycled newspapers or making body scrubs out of coffee grounds and vanilla. They also plan group hikes at local spots like Strouds Run or Hocking Hills to decompress before finals. 

The leaders encourage any interested student to show up and bring their own ideas to the table. 

“I know for me, this is kind of my outlet,” Munro says. “Things that I care about that are important is what I like to emphasize in this club.” 

Between the local service, the international travel opportunities and the sustainable crafts, the group aims to cast a wide net. 

“I just feel like there's something for everyone,” Krantz says. “Yes, the volunteering was cool, but what brought me in was the environmental stuff. I feel like that's a big part of my life.”