The MBA Volunteer Dawgs Program encourages business students to volunteer service with area agencies. The program identifies non-profit organizations in need of help and solicits students to donate their time and skills to help a worthy cause. In some cases, the students have an opportunity to assist organizations while gaining valuable business experience, such as creating a marketing strategy or a business plan. Other opportunities available include working with disadvantaged children, local schools, city libraries, and elderly adults.

The program was originally designed to increase awareness among MBA students of the importance of volunteering. The intent is to build a foundation for a volunteering spirit that MBA graduates will carry with them through their lifetime.

Agencies served in the past include:

• Athens Mentor Program
• United Way
• Athens Homeless Shelter
• Bishop Park
• Habitat for Humanity
• Red Cross
• March of Dimes
• Special Olympics
• Boy Scouts
• Adopt-A-Highway
• Big Brothers
• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Salvation Army
• Athens Canine Rescue

For the 2008 calendar year, 145 MBA students served 36 agencies and contributed more than 2,400 hours of volunteer service to Athens community agencies.
For more information about the Volunteer Dawgs, contact Sarah Zullo, the coordinator, at 706-542-3750, or email.