About the program
Volunteering in Florence is a wonderful way to get a glimpse into the city’s everyday life and give back to the local community to which you too now belong.
Students who volunteer through FSU Florence will participate in a plethora of events and initiatives in the Tuscan Capital and gain invaluable experience during their stay.
Goals and Missions
Volunteering is an immersive experience that allows students to engage directly with the Florentine community, acquiring hands-on knowledge in a variety of sectors. It demonstrates how Seminoles seek to help others, generate kindness, and bridge cultural and personal gaps—all while making friends along the way!
How It Works
Volunteering serves as a platform to hone professional and academic skills at the same time making a tangible difference in our community. These opportunities allow you to practice and develop your knowledge of Italian, general communication skills, and ability to work in an international environment--a skill that is in great demand in our globalized world
Students may earn community service hours by volunteering in and around Florence.
We have arranged volunteer work in public and non-profit institutions that benefit underprivileged and elderly communities. Students can contribute according to the time they have available and their skills.
Organizations where students have volunteered in the past:
- Caritas shelters for women and children - Where activities include playing with children, helping them with homework, putting on a talent show for a local senior-citizen home or volunteering for a local environmental agency.
- San Silvestro Nursing Home - Join Italian teachers by giving your time to the elderly. Try out your hard learned Italian, play games, listen to the residents' stories, give them your smile and attention and you will gain much in return.
- Caritas soup kitchen - Help serve lunch to the elderly and poor at the canteen.
- Angeli del Bello - Join groups of locals and other students studying abroad in cleaning up the city, removing graffiti and in gardening clean-up efforts in some of the most beautiful parks in Florence.
