SERVE is a student-run unit at the University of Michigan that works to provide students with opportunities to address serious social issues through community service and social action. Student leadership teams and committees work together to plan and implement all of our programs as well as to determine our directions and priorities. Through campus programs, alternative breaks, issue education, information and referral services, and internship and job referral, SERVE strives to heighten campus awareness of social issues, increase student involvement in the community, address community problems, and raise social consciousness. The University of Michigan has a long tradition of student involvement in the community. For more than 30 years, students have had the opportunity to work in the community through departments such as Project Community and Project Outreach which offer service-learning courses which can be elected for academic credit. In addition, student organizations have existed that are involved both in specific community issues and in community service in general. In the late 1980's, Project Community recognized the need for an office that would work to build the community service movement on campus through developing and coordinating opportunities for student involvement in community service and social action, and through networking with a variety of student-led service opportunities. In 1988, with a start-up grant from the University's Presidential Initiatives Fund, SERVE was born. In the beginning, SERVE functioned simply as an information and referral service for students who were interested in volunteer opportunities in the community. Those students quickly expressed their desire to not only be involved in the community, but also to initiate, develop, and lead programs for themselves and for other students. During the 1989-1990 school year, in addition to the information and referral services that were offered, students began to develop programs such as the Volunteer Fair, Campus Service Day (which would become SERVE Week) and Alternative Spring Break. In 1990-91, as both our programs and campus interest continued to grow, it became clear that some sort of structure was needed for the student leadership that was growing in SERVE. During that year, a group of 10 students comprised what would become SERVE Board the following year. They met as needed and worked together on all of the programs. That year also marked the beginning of our deliberate efforts to network with other student-run service organizations. A UM Service Network was developed as a means of bringing together those organizations who were working in the community. Students also began to be involved in state and national organizations such as the Campus Outreach Opportunity League and Michigan Campus Compact. 1991-92 marked the beginning of a more specialized leadership structure with the formalization of SERVE Board, and in 1992-93, a new layer of leadership was created with the addition of committees. Also in 1992-93, students initiated two important new components: SERVE Work was created as an information and support service for students interested in careers and internships in social change, and Issue Coordinators were added in an effort to add a more serious reflection component to our programs, and to ensure more effective placement of students. Since 1993, students have continued to build and refine our student leadership structure while adding programs such as Community Plunge, Acting on the Dream, Volunteers Involved Every Week (VIEW), Issue Education & Awarenss, Alternative Weekends, Alternative Summer Break, and expanding issue foci to include global issues, urban issues, and lesbian/gay/bisexual education and support.