Building authentic relationships

By Joanne Bong, ’25, Communications Assistant, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement


At the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement's seventh annual Engage for Change Awards, the University of Richmond’s SEEDS (Students Engaging and Enacting a Dialogue on Service) Project was honored with the Collaboration for Change Award. This recognition highlights SEEDS’ dedication to authentic relationships between campus and community stakeholders and genuine collaboration to affect change.

Usra Karar, SEEDS president, spoke about the organization’s origins: "It all began during Hurricane Katrina when students saw how hard Louisiana was hit and wanted to help."

Since 2006, SEEDS has provided immersive alternative spring break trips for students eager to participate in service projects, connect with community members, and delve into pressing social and environmental justice issues at both local and national levels.

"The idea behind SEEDS is to engage with communities in a way that's not about having a sense of saviorism," Karar said. "Instead, we go in to learn how these communities uplift one another and see how we can help, then bring those lessons back to our own communities."

The organization has established long-term relationships with nonprofits in cities such as Philadelphia, Charleston, and Detroit. Urban Creators in Philadelphia, a nonprofit which addresses food insecurity, is one example. "They run food education programs and provide healthy, leafy greens to a community with limited access to nutritious food," said Adrian Grubbs, SEEDS vice president.

SEEDS has been a transformative space for many students, combining hands-on service with dialogue.

"We’re not just about doing service, we’re about reflecting on what it means to do service," Grubbs said. "When you’re in a room full of people who all have different backgrounds, what you get out of the service is that much more meaningful when you hear their perspectives."

Engaging in dialogue with their community partners is also important to the student leaders.

"It’s not just about dialogue with one another, but also the importance of having meaningful conversations with our community partners who have years of experience," Karar said.

At the Engage for Change Awards, other members of the SEEDS leadership team – Rosemala Agarwala, Ifti Alam, Marian Ali, Elena Durazo, Jasmine Lin, Srejan Raikwar, and Grace Randolph – joined Grubbs and Karar to accept the Collaboration for Change Award.

"It felt really nice to be recognized as an organization,” Grubbs said. "We all put in a lot of work, so it was great to celebrate what we’re all about and share it with the community . . . We’re more motivated than ever to expand our programs and continue building the partnerships that have made all of this possible."