Service
PLU is dedicated to providing service to its members and to the scientific and Evanston/Chicago communities. We currently have five service opportunities:
Notebook and Goggle Sales
Annual Clothing Drive
Chicago Cares Serv-a-thon
Science in the Classroom (SITC)
Service Project Grants
Details about each of these programs can be found below.
Notebook and Goggle Sales- The Alpha-Gamma Chapter of PLU funds its numerous projects through the sale of laboratory notebooks and goggles purchased during the first week of each quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring) in the foyer of Tech and outside freshmen and organic labs. To volunteer , contact our Vice President. After these initial sales, notebooks and goggles are purchased f rom the laboratory program assistant in HG14.
Annual Clothing Drive- Donations are collected on campus from October through December for Hilda's Place/Connections for the Homeless. In 2007 we donated over 422 pounds of clothing! To get involved contact our current Service Chairs.
Chicago Cares Serv-a-thon- An annual NU-PLU team is organized to attend the
Spring Chicago
Cares Serv-a-thon, and was co-awarded as the "Best Community Service Event" at the 2007-2008
Graduate Student Leaders and Associations Awards Banquet. Numerous teams from all around Chicago
come together to help beautify local school classrooms, libraries, and playgrounds. To get involved
contact our current Service Chairs.
Click here to see past years' Chemistry teams in action!
Science In The Classroom (SITC), Science Outreach Program- The flagship service program
for Northwestern PLU is our science outreach program SITC, co-awarded as the "Best Educational
Outreach Program " at the 2007-2008 Graduate Student Leaders and Associations Awards Banquet.
We have teamed with eight 3rd and 4th grade classes at the
Stephen K. Hayt school to provide monthly
hands-on science experiences. More than 50 volunteers participated in our first year, meaning we
could work in small groups of 4-5 students per tutor and each child could perform their own
experiments. We began in February, 2006 and taught four 90 minute lessons per grade over the
course of the school year. Each lesson has a specific theme, for example "Pressure and Gasses",
"Electricity", and "Simple Machines." At the end of the year all 200 students came to Northwestern
where NU volunteers put on a 90 minute show of various exciting science experiments. To volunteer,
contact one of our current Service Chairs.
Click here to view SITC photos!
PLU Service Project Grant (SPG) - PLU offers grants to its current members to fund service projects of their choice. The service projects can be almost anything, from running a race to organizing a full scale event. Service projects relating to the scientific community will be given first consideration but need not be limited as such. The amount of the grant can vary based on the nature of the project and to date have ranged from $100 to $2,000. To apply for a service grant, fill out the SPG Application form and submit it to the current PLU president. Applicants may be asked to come to a board meeting to discuss the details of their project. The full board will decide the merit of the application and if it will be funded. Please allow 3-4 weeks for processing the application.