Georgia Institute of Technology

Giving Thanks

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 11:22am

An Atlanta reporter recently asked a group of Atlanta leaders what what we are most thankful for. I responded that this Thanksgiving season, I am thankful for the spirit of the Georgia Tech community in giving back.

Earlier this month students led the annual TEAM Buzz event where 1,600 students, faculty, staff, and alumni volunteered in the Atlanta area to assist with projects that ranged from working in homeless shelters and soup kitchens to helping improve some of the local parks.

This marked the 16th year of TEAM Buzz, which has become Tech’s largest community service event. Some 85 project coordinators planned 38 projects, arriving at 5:30 on a Saturday morning to prepare for the volunteers who gathered at the Campanile at 8 a.m. A huge crowd of students, faculty, staff, and alumni, clad in purple shirts, went to numerous schools, parks, homeless shelters, animal shelters and other facilities, working side-by-side throughout the day in Atlanta.

The volunteers are encouraged to continue their work throughout the year. Various groups, such as the Coca-Cola alumni group, join in. People volunteer for home maintenance and participate in cancer walks. It has “gone global,” with alumni students, faculty and staff participating in local projects throughout the year in Atlanta, other parts of the U.S., and in China, Spain, England, France, Singapore and Australia.

The TEAM Buzz shirts included the words “following our motto of progress and service,” something that has been ingrained in Georgia Tech’s fabric since it was founded 127 years ago. I could not be more proud, or thankful, for the spirit of the Georgia Tech community.