CNU Engage Recognized Service Organizations

Alpha Phi Omega (APO) is a co-ed service fraternity. Our service program hosts a variety of fun service projects, both on-campus and off-campus with other organizations. In addition to service, we value building leadership skills and friendships!

Primary Email: rachel.freeman.21@cnu.edu and apo@cnu.edu

Service Track: Arts & Culture, Civic Engagement & Social Action, Community Development, Environment & Animals, and Youth Development & Education

CNU American Red Cross Club provides volunteer opportunities to help make a difference by addressing our community’s greatest needs and developing leadership skills. Our main focus is to help provide a sufficient blood supply for our community hospitals by sponsoring blood drives on campus throughout the year.

Email: arcc@cnu.edu; rommel.pagkalinawan.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Health Related

Club for volunteers of various local animal shelters to gather, also to be used as the volunteer pool for TNR effort and feeding free-roaming cats in Newport News

Email: madison.schmeling.23@cnu.edu

Service Track: Environment & Animals

A club for the students volunteering at Bluebird Gap Farm. We organize volunteers on service tracks at the farm, organize carpools for students, and host fundraisers for the farm.

Email: bbgf@cnu.edu; eva.powell.21@cnu.edu

Service Track: Environment and Animals

Captains’ Connection is an independent student-led service organization at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Captains’ Connection (CC) is an organization that establishes meaningful connections through peer mentorships between CNU students and individuals with one or more disabilities. We establish group and individual mentorships with people in the surrounding community with disabilities, and in doing so, we provide guidance, activities, and a sense of belonging, which all deserve. As involvement in our organization increases, we will continue to create an ever-growing advocacy voice for individuals who are often underserved, underrepresented, and misunderstood. Our primary Community Partner is Denbigh High School in Newport News.

Email: captainsconnection@cnu.edu; Primary contact (VP): kaitlyn.dody.23@cnu.edu; Secondary Contact (President): sydney.smith.23@cnu.edu

Service Track: Youth Development and Education

Our goal and mission is to eliminate the bystander effect within the CNU Community and the greater peninsula area. CERO will seek to educate, train, and prepare the CNU community and the greater peninsula for all potential emergencies. From an everyday cut or scrape to a cardiac arrest or car wreck, the club will help train members and the greater community on the best and most efficient way to respond, render needed assistance, and stay collected during various health-related situations. This will be accomplished by bringing initiatives such as STOP the Bleed, CPR training, AED training, and EMT certifications on campus and making them readily available to students, staff, and faculty. CERO will also work with Captains Emergency Medical Services to provide Basic Life Support coverage for the CNU community on campus. We work closely with the NNFD, HFD, Riverside, and NNPS. 

Email: cero@cnu.edu; evan.wright.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Health Related

Colleges Against Cancer is a student-run organization sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Every year, we raise awareness for cancer research and host a series of events to raise money in the fight against cancer. The largest and most well-known of our events is Relay for Life.

Email: cac@cnu.edu; kassidy.reed.21@cnu.edu

Service Tracks: Community Development; Health Related

Craft for a Cause is a service club that creates stuffed animals, blankets, and/or hats to donate to Riverside Hospital. Donated items will be knit, crocheted, or sewn, and we will teach these skills to anyone who wishes to learn!

Email: milo.oloughlin.23@cnu.edu; craftforacause@cnu.edu

Service Track: Arts & Culture; Community Development; Health Related

We are dedicated to working with CNU’s community partner, Family Focus, to educate and raise awareness in our community about childhood abuse and neglect. We will provide services and fundraisers for the Family Focus agency. We will help spread our knowledge to prevent childhood abuse and childhood neglect by promoting the Six Common Protective Factors known to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect, emphasizing the importance of a family’s well-being. At the same time, helping to repair the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Email: familyfocus@cnu.edu; melissa.mcdonnell.23@cnu.edu

Service Track: Youth Development and Education

We are a service organization that prevents food waste and works to feed the Newport News homeless community by collecting packaged food from the dining halls at the end of the night and delivering it to a local rescue mission.

Mission: To facilitate the safe, efficient, and effective transport of CNU’s excess assets to organizations serving those in need in the Newport News Community. To assist in the processes of organizations that utilize CNU’s unused assets. To encourage involvement in helping those in need within the Newport News Community.

Email: ethan.belote.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Hunger & Housing

The Habitat for Humanity chapter at Christopher Newport University is a terrific way to become involved in Habitat for Humanity. This club is dedicated to serving our local affiliate, Habitat for Humanity Peninsula Greater Williamsburg, through volunteerism and donations. As a club, we help build homes, work in the ReStore, and form relationships that will have a lasting impact. Being a part of this club means a dedication to helping those in substandard housing and believing that a house is more than just brick and mortar, it is a place to call home. Join our mission and help make a difference starting here on campus, the Hampton Roads community, and beyond!

Email: matthew.kearney.22@cnu.edu; habitat@cnu.edu

Service Track: Civic Engagement and Social Action; Community Development; Hunger & Housing

Innovative Minds is a club at Christopher Newport University dedicated in volunteering to demonstrate science and scientific ideals to expand young minds. Our goal is to inspire youth in the Newport News community to be passionate about science through hands on STEM activities

Email: innovativeminds@cnu.edu; sadie.sahlberg.21@cnu.edu

Service Track: Community Development; Youth Development & Education

We are the CNU Planned Parenthood chapter, and we focus on sexual health care on campus! Planned Parenthood Generation Action Network is a network of young organizers and activists across the country who organize events on their campuses and in their communities to mobilize advocates for reproductive freedom; in addition to raising public awareness about reproductive health and rights, educating young people about sexual health, and creating lasting change in those communities.

We table and provide free condoms and other STI-protective materials for students. We are also trying to get free condoms to be placed in dorms around campus.

Email: ppga@cnu.edu; andrew.brown.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Gender & Sexuality Interest; Health Related

Serve The City is an international organization that mobilizes volunteers to help in areas of need and perform acts of kindness. They have a location for our surrounding area which is Serve The City Peninsula. The goal of this club is to work directly with them and provide student volunteers at their various events.

Email: servethecityclub@cnu.edu; joseph.banta.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Arts & Culture; Aging; Civic Engagement and Social Action; Community Development; Environment & Animals; Health Related; Hunger & Housing; International Interest; Women’s Interest; Youth Development & Education

The purpose of this organization is to work with persons born with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. The gymnastics program in Newport News provides children with special needs a fun, social, and athletic program that allows them to interact with volunteer coaches and other athletes in order to develop coordination and confidence through the sport of artistic gymnastics.

Email: specialolympicsgymnastics@cnu.edu; sabrina.ritter.21@cnu.edu

Service Track: Health Related; Youth Development & Education

The Student Basic Needs Chapter (partnered with the national non-profit of SBNC) aims to support students in building a localized network of activists on CNU’s campus. The SBNC chapter will expand awareness of student basic needs and financial insecurity at CNU, build community between campus organizations with similar missions, and develop campaigns for improving college affordability and graduation rates for all students. Though the primary goal of the chapter is to establish and run a food pantry on campus, it will also host events such as movie screenings about campus hunger and town halls to facilitate cross-group collaboration and help register students in need for SNAP. Student volunteers will staff the food pantry project. Additional events, such as serving meals at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc., will also be held to offer students volunteer opportunities that engage them with their community.

Email: sbnc@cnu.edu; isabella.holly.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Hunger & Housing; Youth Development & Education

Email: audrey.hales.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Community Development; Environment & Animals

Where Is The Line is the CNU student organization affiliated with the organization Fear 2 Freedom, a global nonprofit dedicated to redeeming and restoring lives wounded by sexual abuse, bringing them hope and healing. Where is the Line (WITL) is founded on the hope that education, awareness, and philanthropic action can alleviate and prevent the suffering of sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. Our goal is to elevate awareness of sexual abuse and bring change through vigilance and healing through compassion.

Email: witl@cnu.edu; kathryn.mcdermott.22@cnu.edu

Service Track: Civic Engagement and Social Action; Gender & Sexuality Interest; Health Related