Maroon Volunteer Center

Dawgs Serve

Real Dawgs Do Real Good

Signature Events Volunteer Opportunities Volunteer Information Log Your Service Hours

Our goal is to connect students with meaningful service opportunities, both on and off campus. Signature events include service opportunities during Dawg Days, MLK Days of Service, Mississippi State’s BIG Event, and Alternative Break Trips, fostering a culture of active citizenship and engagement. 

Service is a broad term that encompasses helping others, often with a sense of duty or responsibility. It can include structured programs, civic engagement, and professional roles that benefit a community.

Volunteering is a specific service performed willingly and without monetary compensation. It typically involves individuals giving their time to support a cause, organization, or community effort.

Philanthropy is about giving time, money, or resources to support causes, organizations, and communities that matter to you. At Mississippi State, students participate in philanthropy by fundraising for nonprofits, leading donation drives, and supporting initiatives that create real change. Philanthropy focuses on building a stronger future by investing in the success and well-being of others.

Service, volunteering, and philanthropy are all connected. Still, they’re a little different: service is the broad act of helping others, volunteering is giving your time without pay, and philanthropy is donating resources to make a lasting impact.

In short, while all volunteering is a service, not all service or philanthropy involves volunteering.

Signature Events

Serve during Dawg Days!

Join us during Dawg Days to serve with various community partners! 

Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity

For more than a decade, Habitat for Humanity has partnered with hundreds of MSU students, faculty and staff to build a Habitat home.

Alternative Break Trips

Alternative Breaks engage students in service and hands-on activities in communities throughout the Southeast each spring.

MLK Days of Service

The Martin Luther King Jr. Days of Service is a defining moment each year when MSU students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community members step up to serve our communities and take action to work toward Dr. King’s dream, 'The Beloved Community.'

Maroon Volunteer Cord

The Maroon Volunteer Cord is our way to honor students for their commitment to making the community a better place for others.

National Volunteer Week - State Edition

National Volunteer Week - State Edition is April 21-27! Register to volunteer and serve at one of our many community partners!

Volunteer Opportunities

Discover ways you can serve MSU and the surrounding communities.

Volunteer Today Learn about volunteer opportunities

Volunteer Information

Philanthropy/Donation: The act of donating money or goods to promote the welfare of others, specifically to persons, causes, or organizations (e.g., purchasing a raffle ticket or a ticket to a fundraising event, donating cash to an organization, donating goods to a food pantry, etc.).

Service-Leadership: Serving a community in a leadership role (as an individual or group), such as a site leader, project manager, and organization board member. 

Service Training: Facilitating or participating in a volunteer orientation/training that provides more information about a service project, a community partner, or how to engage with a community.

Volunteering: Providing direct services in communities intended to benefit others. It is synonymous with providing food, clothing, shelter, or other actions to relieve immediate needs or enhance assets in a community—often more short-term.

Organization Hours: Any required hours for a student organization or department that are non-service related.

How to Sync Your Accounts

  1. Go to msstate.givepulse.com.
  2. Click “Log in” (top-right corner).
  3. Click “Log in via MyState” (top of the list).
  4. Login with MyState Duo.
  5. Click the drop-down arrow next to your name and select “Account.”
  6. Within the left column, scroll down to “Link to Engage.”
  7. Click “Sync My Accounts.”
  8. Proceed with permission to sync.

How to Find Volunteer Opportunities

  1. Log in to cowbellconnect.msstate.edu.
  2. Click "Sign In"  (top-right corner).
  3. Login with MyState Duo.
  4. Click the “Service” tab from the drop down menu (top left of the screen).
  5. Explore your options and click the volunteer opportunity that’s right for you.
  6. Click “Register” and select desired volunteer shift(s).

  1. Go to Cowbell Connect.
  2. Click "Explore Cowbell Connect."
  3. Sign in with MyState Duo.
  4. Click the circle icon to view a drop-down list (top-right corner).
  5. Select "Experiences."
  6. Click the blue button that says "Add Experience" and select "Service/Volunteering."
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: Only the "Service/Volunteering" category counts toward the Maroon Volunteer Cord for graduating students.
    • Any denied submissions will include a note providing instructions and feedback for next steps.
  7. Complete the form and click submit.
     

A co-curricular transcript captures and organizes your extracurricular activities and learning experiences beyond the classroom. Whether it's your participation in student organizations, involvement in service and volunteer initiatives, engagement in leadership programs and training, or your achievements in honors programs, this transcript visually presents your skills, talents, and passions. It's an effective way to showcase how you've applied and developed these attributes alongside your academic accomplishments.

How to Access Your Co-Curricular Transcript

  1. Log in to MyState or Cowbell Connect.
  2. Select your profile image (or initials if no image) in the top right corner.
  3. Make desired edits using the "Change Layout" option.
  4. Click "Print View/PDF."
  5. Click "Print."
     

Use Cowbell Connect to log your service hours.

Need to Log Service Hours?

Log Your Hours Log your service hours