Students Offering Support (SOS), an organization that raises money for developing nations by hosting exam reviews in North American universities, is looking to create a chapter at Carleton.
By co-ordinating volunteer-run tutoring sessions across North America, SOS raises money to build sustainable education projects in impoverished nations.
The organization, founded in 2004 by then 19-year-old Greg Overholt at Wilfred Laurier University, now has chapters at 26 college and university campuses across North America.
He’s expanding it to Carleton.
The first step, Overholt said, is finding the right student leaders.
“Knowing the culture, knowing the community and the people at Carleton University, I am confident the right people exist,” he said.
David Williams, a past volunteer who may be helping with the re-launch, said the concept of the SOS is a novel one that Carleton students should be proud to participate in.
“Ace your exam, provide medication to a dying child, give a third-world community clean water, or help them to grow food and become sustainable. It’s a win-win,” he said.
“Our generation is globally aware, active, and are not waiting for our degrees to begin effecting change,” he said. “The growth of the Carleton chapter has been carefully planned and quietly prepared. We will be ready next September to burst onto the stage and you will see that Carleton students are the best in the country.”
Laura Carlson, who wrote about the beginnings of the SOS as news editor at Wilfrid Laurier’s student newspaper, The Cord, said the organization definitely has a place at Carleton.
“From what I saw at Laurier, I think it is a really good organization . . . and expanding to other campuses is a really positive thing,” she said.
What the chapter needs to get established, she said, is active leadership and academically strong volunteers.
Now a master’s student and teaching assistant at Carleton, Carlson said she sees the benefit the organization could have to students.
“A lot of TAs are grad students and have [outside of the class] commitments,” she said. “Having people that can help [students] outside designated class hours in different and creative ways to help them prepare for exams is really important.”
Also important, Overholt said, is the community the organization creates on campus.
“SOS provides the campus a rejuvenation in student leadership and shows the impact students can have. In one year, Carleton SOS could easily raise $10 to $15 thousand dollars.”
Reflecting on the growth and success of his organization, Overholt stressed the importance of volunteers.
“Now that we’ve almost reached the $1 million mark, it goes to show so much is due to student volunteers in not just local, but global ways.”
Internationally, SOS volunteers tutored over 6,000 undergraduate students last year, pushing the total amount raised to more than $650,000, according to a Financial Post article. With the $350,000 expected at the end of exams this year, the organization will hit $1 million raised since its creation eight years ago.
“Its been a wonderful journey so far,” Overholt said. “I’m looking forward to engaging more students with this opportunity.”
