A GUIDE TO
COMMUNITY SERVICE RECOGNIZED
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS (CSRSOs)
What is a CSRSO?
Community Service Recognized Student Organizations (CSRSOs) provide an opportunity for over 2,000 students at the University of Chicago to engage in experiential learning and service through community service projects and programs. With over 50 active CSRSOs, there is a project or program for everyone.
Though CSRSOs have strong ties to community partners, they are self-governing student organizations. Many focus on ways to further the work of their partner organizations through collaborative volunteering and programming, while others have developed their own unique programs. All CSRSOs provide some direct service to the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Chicago campus, and the city of Chicago at large.
If you are interested in participating in or partnering with any of the organizations below, please contact the organization representative.
If there is a type of community service that is not currently being undertaken by one of our organizations and you would like to start an organization, please contact us at
For more information on CSRSOs and other UCSC programs visit: ucsc.uchicago.edu
CSRSO Directory
2012-2013
ADVOCACY
Commuknity
Commuknity is where yarn and people intertwine. Relaxing meetings 1-2 times per week provide an opportunity for members to socialize, work on projects, learn from other members, and teach new members. A quarterly fundraiser with proceeds donated to a charity is a focal point of all members. Members are also often involved in quarterly trips to yarn stores, and art projects such as yarn bombing and magazines.
Contact Mattie Toma:
Paws UChicago
Paws is geared towards getting students to volunteer hands-on at local animal shelters and partner with community groups to raise awareness on campus about how to get involved.
Contact Anneliese Marty:
Southside Solidarity Network (SSN)
Southside Solidarity Network aims to create a vehicle through which University students can make a substantive connection with the surrounding community through projects that include, but are not limited to, advocacy, community service, and community organizing. It also aims to have a group in which individual research on local political, socio-cultural, and economic issues can enter into collective dialogue and which is dedicated to disseminating this knowledge to a wider University and community audience.
Contact Aija Nemer-Aanerud:
ARTS
ArtShould
ArtShould promotes art on campus and in Hyde Park by mentoring youth in Chicago Public Schools through afterschool programs and by developing workshops and events.
Contact Moè Nakayama:
Beats & Pieces
Beats & Pieces seeks to connect the University community to the surrounding area through the arts, with a focus on multicultural expression.
Contact Erica Detemmerman :
EDUCATION
Early Childhood Education
AlMas
ALMas is a student organization at the University of Chicago dedicated to reducing the educational and achievement gap between young Hispanics and the average American student. It will provide an after school pre-school literacy program that focuses on reading comprehension and that is founded upon the most recent research on early childhood education especially as it pertains to young Hispanics.
Contact Marvin Espinoza:
Elementary School
Southside Scribblers
Southside Scribblers strives toget kids excited about being creative, excited about writing, and excited about creative writing. Scribblers provides supervised writing activities to children ranging from 2nd grade to 6th grade in Hyde Park elementary schools.
Contact Katie O’Shea:
Students Teaching at Ray School (STARS)
STARS provides opportunities for U of C students to teach and to reflect together on teaching, learning, and education. The organization provides ESL tutoring to students at Ray Elementary School.
Contact Payal Chowdhary :
Middle School
Women and Youth Supporting Each other (WYSE)
WYSE is a national mentoring organization which works to empower young women with the information and resources they need to make healthy, informed decisions and become leaders in their communities. The U of C branch works at Madero Middle School in Little Village.
Contact Christine Wong:
High School
AppUP
appUP is the only organization on campus that specifically targets the college application process. Our comprehensive year long curriculum provides a unique combination of one-on-one mentorship and group sessions. Our horizontal structure compels every mentor to take greater responsibilities in curriculum development and leading initiatives.
Contact Bowen Yang:
Financial Education Initiative
Financial Education Initiative provides college students with the unique opportunity to mentor high school students about financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
Contact Vincent Yu:
Rising Phoenix Debate
Rising Phoenix Debate is dedicated to connecting Chicago's high school debate teams with experienced college coaches, providing logistical support to new teams, and organizing training sessions for students as well as coaches.
Contact Carlos Penikis:
Splash!
Splash! Chicago runs after-school and weekend programs for high school students. Their goal is to introduce students from different walks of life to topics that aren’t approached in the traditional classroom– anything from pirate history and culture to tap dancing and religious cults– in a fun, collaborative setting.
Contact Natasha Harnwell-Davis:
Whatever It Takes
Whatever It Takes (WIT) seeks to level the playing field in test prep by offering free SAT and ACT prep courses to high school students in the local community. WIT is currently working students from high schools in the greater Chicago area and offering weekly classes on Saturday and Sunday starting at the beginning of each academic quarter.
Contact Claire Quang:
Multi-Level Academic Programs
BrightSpark
BrightSpark aims to create opportunities for K-12 students to explore a spectrum of topics outside the scope of the average classroom experience.
Contact Katie Schilling:
Calvert House Tutoring
Calvert House tutors use their academic privileges to benefit elementary and high school students who need help with their education through one-on-one tutoring in a large group setting, which fosters not only productive tutoring sessions, but also establishes a sense of community.
Contact Westin Tom:
Chicago Adolescent Mentorship Program (CHAMP)
CHAMP seeks to establish an ongoing relationship between the U of C and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club (HPNC), a local community center by offering one-on-one tutoring to elementary and middle school students.
Contact Dianya Pu:
Chicago Hopes
Chicago HOPES offers students the opportunity to tutor children living at temporary shelters. We are currently working with Ridgeland Daycare Center, a shelter for families who have experienced domestic violence.
Contact Severine Cao:
Chicago Youth Philanthropy Group (CYGP)
The CYPG is an organization composed of students from across the University of Chicago. We combine a passion for improving people's lives with a determination to right the socio-economic wrongs imposed on South Side residents. By organizing high schoolers through a representative and democratic body of students, we facilitate their potential for philanthropic works. We also work to acquire funds which this body of students decides how to appropriate.
Contact Nicholas Parker:
Comer Tutors
Comer Tutors seeks to organize and train tutors who will provide academic services to in-patients at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.
Contact Stephanie Grach:
Friends of Washington Park
Friends of Washington Park is partnered with the city-wide Chicago Youth Programs to offer tutoring programs to youth from the neighboring Washington Park.
Contact Maryann Tamrazi:
Neighbors
Neighbors provides service opportunities for law students in the surrounding community to mentor and tutor at local, low-income elementary and high schools.
Contact Renee Ahlers:
Opportunities Through Operating Systems
OOS’s mission is to assist local and international communities in overcoming the digital divide. They aim to teach computer skills along with the English language throughout the year in neighborhoods around Chicago and over the summer in Guatemala.
Students for Educational Equity
Students for Educational Equity is a CSRSO partnered with TEACH FOR AMERICA that is ready to have a MAJOR impact on the problem of educational inequity. We are a committed group of students dedicated to closing the achievement gap through collective action and engagement with the issues at hand.
Contact Tamari Miller:
South Side Free Music Program
The South Side Free Music Program (formerly known as the Woodlawn Free Music Program) is an all-volunteer organization providing free music education in schools and community centers in south side Chicago. The program's lessons teach both an instrument and music theory.
Contact Julia Sizek:
South Side Science Scholars
Believing that human life may be enriched through the growth and dissemination of knowledge, this group is committed to developing, creating, and delivering a sustainable afterschool science curriculum to under-served Chicago grade schools, particularly those of the South Side. We aspire to positively impact children s scientific thinking, elements of health education, communication skills, and overall school preparedness.
Contact Ellis Kim:
Students Embracing Newfound Diversity (SEND)
SEND is an organization that seeks to engage the larger Hyde Park community high school students by providing opportunities to experience different cultures through cultural shows and classroom lessons.
Contact Yeehyun Kim:
Strive Tutoring
Strive Tutoring provides high-quality one-on-one tutoring to Chicago Public Schools students to improve academic performance, forge strong relationships between tutors and students, and allow interested volunteers to serve the community.
Contact Dan Moore:
Woodlawn After School Kids Program
Woodlawn After School Kids Program provides a safe environment for kids to study after school as well as to assist with homework and promote educational growth.
Contact Ezra Karger:
FUNDRAISING
American Red Cross
American Red Cross supports the cause of the American Red Cross in helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. As the first American Red Cross collegiate club of Illinois, that chapter seeks to take a strong leadership role in recruiting support for the Red Cross.
Contact Melissa Velasquez:
Colleges Against Cancer
Colleges Against Cancer supports the American Cancer Society through the organization of fundraisers, provision of educational materials, and spreading awareness of varied advocacy events throughout the year.
Contact Melissa Lieberman-Klein:
Run For It
Run For It is a marathon-service club that exists to provide its members with both an extreme physical challenge and the opportunity to fundraise and perform service for an organization. In addition, they aim to educate their members about varying social justice issues in Chicago by volunteering in Hyde Park and throughout Chicago.
Contact McIntyre Skarzynski:
GLOBAL
China Care
China Care provides financial support to orphans in the China Care Foundation to receive medical treatments, as well as educational and emotional support to Chinese children adopted into non-Chinese families.
Contact Christie Auyeung:
Global China Connection
Global China Connection is interested in building connections and friendships between the western world and China through cultural exchange and language immersion. They work toward the creation of series of cultural presentations, panel discussions, and topical seminars in the high schools at Chicagoland area.
Contact Yechen Gu:
Global Water Brigades
Global Water Brigades assists in designing and implementing water systems to prevent communicable illnesses in communities through 7 day Water Brigades in Honduras.
Contact Arthur Cilley:
Partnership for the Advancement of Refugee Rights (PARR)
Partnership for the Advancement of Refugee Rights (PARR) approaches refugee advocacy from three standpoints: direct service, raising awareness, and public policy research.
Contact Rebecca Guterman:
Rotaract Club
Rotaract provides an opportunity for youth to enhance the knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs of their communities, and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service.
Contact Yuting Shao:
HEALTH
Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP)
ASAP seeks to reduce the use of commonly-abused drugs by middle school students on Chicago's South Side.
Contact Ellis Kim:
Community Health Initiative
Community Health Initiative provides medical care and educational and community services to residents of the Maria Shelter in the Englewood community and patients at the Community Health Clinic.
Contact Julia Mhlaba:
CONNECT
CONNECT aims to connect individuals and families from the South Side to resources which can help address the social determinants of health.
Diabetes Prevention Group
Diabetes Prevention Group provides community based glucose and blood pressure screenings.
Contact Camille Cross:
GlobeMed
GlobeMed aims to increase awareness of global health issues on campus and in the surrounding community.
Contact Cindy Sui:
Health Leads
Health Leads expands the capacity of clinics to connect their patients with the resources they need to be healthy, while creating a pipeline of new leaders with the skills and experience to change the healthcare system.
Contact Anisha Ganguly:
Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP)
HPREP members serve as mentors and friends to minority high school students. These high school students come from schools throughout the area to the University of Chicago campus once a month where they participate in a variety of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities with the goal of giving insight into the life as a health professional as well as an opportunity to connect with medical students and physicians.
Contact Christopher Castaneda:
Journeying Out to Underserved Regions of the Nation and Engaging in Effective Service
JOURNEES seeks to expose medical students to the healthcare needs of diverse patient populations beyond that of the University of Chicago Medical Center through direct service-learning experiences.
Medical Brigades
Medical Brigades is a branch of Global Brigades, developing sustainable health initiatives and providing immediate medical relief in rural, isolated communities in Honduras, Panama and Ghana where there is very limited access to healthcare.
MEDLIFE
MEDLIFE increase access to healthcare in impoverished parts of Peru, Ecuador, and Panama through mobile clinics, fundraising, and education.
Contact Christie Auyeung:
Mission for Vision
Mission for Vision conducts comprehensive eye exams for Chicago Public School students.
Contact Abigail Gonsalves: