In addition, each class section elects one student to serve on the Festival Coordinating Committee and keep the class informed through event updates. Students on the Coordinating Committee meet over the term to plan andexecute the Festival of Hope and insure that all students remain informed. Working closely with the Office of Volunteerism and Community Service,project groups select established programs in the community to serve or identify other areas of need where no projects are currently underway. Patrick Kelly, Assistant Director of Campus Activities and Coordinator of Volunteer Services, assists groups in identifying and selecting projects. Volunteer coordinators inthe community have come to depend on the consistent effort of the Eckerd seniors .
Groups have nearly unlimited freedom in choosing service projects.
The sole requirement is that the selected project benefit communities beyond the college. Every year, a number of groups work with existing community programs such as Friends of Strays, Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Petersburg and the American Red Cross. Others create innovative programs to benefit lesser-known communities. They develop meaningful connections with the communities they aid, whether playing with small children in an abuse shelter, caring for large animals at the zoo, resurrecting biologically diverse populations of plant life in Tampa Bay, or providing relief to devastated communities abroad. Matt Hoffman, a senior majoring in Biology and Art, worked with developmentally disabled adults through an organization called Creative Clay.