Service to Campus and Community

Mortar Board chapters started as a way to provide service to the alma mater. These service to campus projects ranged and have changed over time. Service to campus can include providing quality programming, building campus partnerships, enhancing recognition, or promoting inclusion and belonging on campus. Some chapters volunteer for university events and programs, some host alumni events promote networking, and others serve campus through various leadership roles.

Part of Mortar Board’s mission is to encourage lifelong contributions to the global community. We know our members are already doing community service, and we encourage this continues not only during their time as collegiate members, but throughout their lifetime. Some chapters host projects around the national project, “Reading is Leading,” while others choose to program around issues close to the campus community or Mortar Board members. Topics range and include literacy, food insecurity, animal care, supporting marginalized groups, environmental conservation, and more. Projects can be stand-alone events, partnerships with other campus entities, or a passive projects done during a chapter meeting.

As a service to campus, many chapters host a Last Lecture Series. Students invite (sometimes vote) faculty members to give a lecture on something that deeply matters to them, giving a hypothetical final talk. Chapters provide service to the campus by contributing to quality programming. Most Last Lecture events are open to the campus community and give Mortar Board a great opportunity for visibility.

In 2002, student delegates voted for a permanent National Service Project around literacy and education. They coined the national service project, “Reading is Leading.” Chapters typically program around Reading is Leading through book drives, decorating bookmarks, reading to children, and tutoring.

If your chapter would like to participate in a Reading is Leading project, ideas are listed below (it is not required, but highly recommended). There is also a category of Collegiate Awards for Reading is Leading projects.

Click here for Reading is Leading ideas

Need fresh service ideas for your chapter? We’ve compiled a list of service program options you can consider. If you have ideas to add to the list, email chapters@mortarboard.org.

Click here to see what service projects other chapters are doing.

Is there a service requirement?

No, chapters do not have service requirements. While service projects and initiatives are strongly recommended, there is not a national service requirement to remain an active chapter.

Do we have to plan our own events?

While some chapters plan their own service events, many partner with other clubs and offices on campus on larger projects. Some chapters don’t host formal service events and allow their members to continue to do individual service that’s meaningful to them. We just ask that chapters and their members live out Mortar Board’s tenet of service in some way.

Do we have to formally track service hours?

Sort of. We do not require formal tracking of service hours, but we do ask about total service hours on the Chapter Annual Report in May. We ask our chapters to report how many total hours of service they did this year, so we ask chapters to track service hours enough to be able to answer that question. If ten people do a one-hour project, that’s ten hours of service. In the 2023-2024 academic year, chapters did over 11,360 hours of service!