A new service initiative at Mercer University is bringing together students, faculty and staff to serve alongside community partners across Georgia. On March 21, Spring into Service will host activities across the Atlanta and Macon areas, with the hope of drawing participation from all of the University’s 12 schools and colleges.
“This event is an opportunity for our students, faculty and staff to collectively engage with the communities around us,” said Dr. Douglas Pearson, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “It reflects Mercer’s ongoing commitment to community engagement and plants the seeds for continued service. We hope this experience encourages participants to carry forward that spirit of service and leadership wherever they may go.”
Spring into Service builds on the foundation of Be a Good NeighBear, Mercer’s flagship service event in which hundreds of students, faculty and staff disperse across Middle Georgia, tackling service projects that address local needs while strengthening bonds between Mercer and its neighbors, said Lauren Shinholster, associate director of engaged learning.
Near the end of the fall 2025 semester, a working group — chaired by Dr. Pearson and Dr. Kathryn Kloepper, vice provost for engaged learning and professor — was formed to coordinate service projects in Atlanta and Macon.
Projects in Atlanta include helping the Empty Stocking Fund with a critical inventory project, assisting Lost-n-Found Youth with the beautification of its thrift store, and removing invasive plants with the Friends of Briarlake Forest Park.
MerServe, the University’s student-led service leadership board, led the charge in coordinating the Macon service projects. Those projects include assisting Carlyle Place senior living community with its spring planting and beautification project, building beds for children with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, helping Historic Macon Foundation prepare for its spring sale, and volunteering at the lantern light tours at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.
“This day of service is an opportunity to step outside the classroom and workplace and engage directly with local organizations making a difference,” Shinholster said.
Service projects will take place throughout the day, with most shifts occurring in the morning and early afternoon.
Students, faculty and staff can view available service projects and sign up for the site that best fits their interests and schedules through BearPulse, the University’s volunteer platform powered by GivePulse. You should log in using your Mercer credentials.
Click one of the following links for the location you are interested in:
Those without transportation may still participate. In Macon, volunteers should report to the Connell Student Center breezeway to check in, meet their site leader and coordinate transportation before departing for their service project. Limited transportation will be available in Atlanta, and those participants should carefully review their site details to learn about transportation availability and site locations.
“Service is central to Mercer’s identity and mission. The University’s commitment to community engagement reflects its belief that everyone majors in changing the world,” Shinholster said. “Spring into Service is one tangible way the Mercer community lives out that commitment together. We hope participants leave inspired to stay involved beyond March 21.”
