Get connected! SPC students have many opportunities to get involved in civic leadership. Check them out below.

2022 Civic Opportunities

Campus Vote Project

Campus Vote Project is seeking students who are passionate about democratic engagement, politically interested, and self-starters to help peers register and vote and engage them in dialogue around democracy through a one-year fellowship.

Compensation: New Fellows will receive a $1,200 stipend in two installments ($500 at the end of their first semester in the spring and $700 at the end of the fall semester). Fellows should be prepared to spend 10 hours per week on the program during the spring and fall semesters.

How to apply: Please submit a résumé and cover letter to the Florida State Coordinator, Arielle Mizrahi, at amizrahi@campusvoteproject.org.

Civic Influencers

Civic Influencers is a nonpartisan, nonprofit that activates young people’s civic power through organizing, learning, and advocacy. The organization uses real-time data to draw attention to democracy power outages on campuses and in communities and trains young people to fight for youth voting rights and the policies they care about. Civic Influencers designs youth-centered, data-driven civic action projects that remove barriers to voting and push decision-makers to give young people a seat at the table.

Compensation: $700 a semester.

How to apply: Please complete the online Civic Influencers application, and a State Organizer will contact you ASAP to learn more about your experiences and passions.

Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)

The Student PIRG’s New Voters Project is the country’s oldest and largest, field-based youth voter engagement campaign. Since 1984, the student-led program has helped register more than 2 million young people to vote, and made more than 3 million personalized GOTV contacts, while training thousands of students in the citizenship, leadership, and campaigning skills necessary to run mobilization and turnout campaigns to encourage their peers to participate in our democracy.

This fellowship provides students the skills, training, resources, and guidance to run effective non-partisan campaigns to help mobilize their peers to vote in this midterm election.

Compensation: Students will gain valuable experience while earning a stipend of $3,000 for the fall semester.

How to apply: Please complete the online PIRG application.

St. Petersburg College (SPC) wants to make sure that you are Vote Ready before Election Day on November 8! Florida’s registration deadline is fast approaching on October 11, and SPC encourages you to register to vote and participate. Here’s how you can get started.

Register to Get Vote Ready

It’s simple, it’s free, and it’s secure! College students can register to vote at their school address or their permanent/home address if the two are different. Start the process at vote.gov to get Vote Ready. 

Already registered? Take a moment to confirm it. You can also sign up for TurboVote, the non-partisan text messaging system to insure you never forget an election. Please visit the SPC TurboVote website for more information and to register.

Request a Mail-in Ballot

If you want to vote by mail this year, request your ballot today. The deadline to request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to you is no later than 5:00 p.m. (local time) on the 10th day before the election, which is October 29 for this year’s General Election.

Take ten minutes today to visit vote.org to learn more about what’s on the ballot, where your polling station is, and other ways to get involved ahead of Election Day.

Share That You’re Vote Ready

Once you make sure you’re registered, forward this post to a friend, and ask them to get Vote Ready. And make sure to share on social media that you’re #SPCVoteReady!

Mark Your Calendar

• September 20: National Voter Registration Day
• October 11: Florida Voter Registration Deadline 
• October 24: Florida General Election Early Voting
• October 29: Deadline to Request a Mail-in Ballot
• October 29–November 5: Florida Early Voting Period
• November 8: General Election Day

Thank you for taking a few moments to get Vote Ready and strengthen your community—and our country—with your voice!

Celebrate PRIDE month with the Downtown and Midtown Centers!

Join us for lunch, LGBTQ community resources and tie dying to celebrate PRIDE month on Thursday, June 23, 12 noon-2 p.m.

For more information, please email Dr. Tara Newsom at newsom.tara@spcollege.edu

Looking for a volunteer opportunity? Check out Localtopia on February 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in St. Petersburg’s Williams Park.

Localtopia is St. Pete’s largest “Community Celebration of All Things Local,” showcasing *OVER 300* of your favorite independent businesses and community organizations!

See more information about the event here.

If you would like to volunteer at our ninth annual community festival and help us make it the best one yet, use the volunteer signup link to register.

On January 6, 2021, millions watched live as the unthinkable happened – a group of armed insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol and gained entry to the inner chambers, destroying property, searching for “enemies,” and vowing to “take back the country.”

While not the first insurrection in our country’s history, it was certainly the first in recent memory, a climax to years of vicious partisan fights and months of “stop the steal” – a false allegation that President Joe Biden did not win the election.

On January 6, 2022, SPC’s community partner, WEDU, will air Fragile Democracy, a two-hour documentary exploring the ebbs and flows of democracy, both nationally and globally.

The program examines the history of unstable democracy, from revolution, rebellion and reconstruction, to Civil Rights, Obama, and Trump, and takes a look to the future, as well as at local and national programs aimed and instituting a more robust civics curriculum in schools.

Fragile Democracy is neither a news broadcast nor a historical documentary, but a hybrid production that showcases the richness of PBS’s programming intelligence, its diverse voices, and its tradition of informing and enlightening the nation at times of crisis.

January 6, 2021 was not the first or only insurrection our nation has witnessed. There have been many points in history where there have been armed uprisings which had to be put down with force, and other times when the very essence of our democracy has been threatened. In fact, in 1807, the Insurrection Act was passed to deal with uprisings, and it has been invoked more than once. There will be some stories we know – and others that will be new to most.

Fragile Democracy aims to offer historical context to help viewers understand how we got to this place, how the insurrection and political divisions affect our present day, and what the future of American democracy might look like.

WATCH THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 @ 9pm WEDU PBS.

This year’s MLK Day of Service will be Friday, Jan. 14. SPC will be partnering with Farm Share Fresh Produce Distribution at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus from 9 – 11 a.m. Volunteers should plan to arrive at 7 a.m.

Feel free to print this flyer to spread the word!

For more information, please contact Dr. Misty Kemp at Kemp.Misty@spcollege.edu or Dr. Tara Newsom at Newsome.Tara@spcollege.edu.

Help celebrate Discovery Day by joining SPC’s newest service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega (APO), collect new and gently used shoes for Clothes to Kids’s Shoetober collection drive.

Shoetober is a month-long collection drive for new and gently used shoes.

Each year, Clothes to Kids provides more than 13,000 pairs of shoes to kids in our communities. Their mission is to provide new and quality used clothing to low income or in crisis school age children, free of charge.

Shoetober is brought to SPC by APO. APO is a co-educational intercollegiate service organization. Since 1925, more than 500,000 members on over 375 campuses, provide more services on more campuses than any other collegiate service organization. It is an inclusive, campus-based, leadership development organization. For more information about APO, please contact Dr. Tara Newsom at newsom.tara@spcollege.edu.

Discovery Day is a great opportunity for faculty and staff to collaborate with each other and with the help of APO, support our community.

Sizes needed: Children’s size nine – adult 15

Especially needed is tennis shoes and school appropriate styles.

Have questions? Call Megan at Clothes to Kids at 727-515-4520 or email her at MeganD@clothestokids.org

WHERE TO DONATE:
Clearwater Store
1059 N Hercules Ave
Clearwater, FL 33765
727-441-5050

St. Pete Store
2168 34th St S
St. Pete, FL 33711
727-441-5050

Tampa Store
5011-H W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL 33634
813-616-6430
www.clothestokids.org

Join the fight against food insecurity! Hunger is real and together we can fight hunger!

Join Farmshare on Friday, October 15th at 7:30 am
Juvenile Welfare Board
14155 58th Street North, Clearwater

TO VOLUNTEER CONATCT: CVandenberg@pinellascounty.org

Get involved locally with these opportunities:

League of Women Voters St.Petersburg
The LWVSPA relies on volunteers from all walks of life, with all levels of time to give and all skills and passions to follow.

Spooktacular Fright Night Volunteer Opportunity
Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to work with the City of Safety Harbor! If you would like to volunteer during the event, email dmack@cityofsafetyharbor.com.

Clearwater Jazz Holiday
This huge annual event is scheduled for October 14-17, 2021 at BayCare Ball Park! Learn more and register to volunteer here.