San Francisco State University students gained a new perspective on the job market and community involvement at the non-profit fair held on campus.

"Non-profits give students the opportunity to get involved in their communities and it also gives them the opportunity to find placement for the Community Service Learning classes," said Adam Calmenson, program coordinator for the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement and host of the event.

Non-profits from various neighborhoods around San Francisco gathered in the quad with informational booths and flyers.

"There's a big need for volunteers with children. It seems that the majority of the non-profits here are working with children," said Luke Alameda, freshmen, "A lot of these non-profits require money in one way or another to function and with the bad economy they're not going to have as much money so they're going to need a lot of help."

The fair was held over a two-day period, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 and Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009, and was the most successful non-profit fair the campus has ever had, according to the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.

"Students need to reach out and strengthen their communities because obviously they are living in a really diverse area and there are so many pockets of different types of people living in their neighborhoods that are just not getting the support that they need here," said Julia Otis, representative of Refuge Transitions, a non-profit promoting on campus.

Though the economic crisis is affecting every type of organization, in one way or another, non-profits have experienced a balance, according to the Institute for Civic Engagement. Though paying jobs and government grant opportunities have gone down, non-profits have seen a resurgence of volunteers which is affecting many non-profits in a very positive way.

"Most of the people working the booths started out as volunteers," said Calmenson. "If you're at an organization and you do a good job, it could definitely lead to a career."

With many San Francisco State University students struggling to find jobs, non-profits offer an alternative to the mainstream job market.

"Depending on your major, you can apply skills that you've learned at state when you volunteer and there's so many programs out there that I didn't know existed till now," Giselle Melina, nursing major.

Interested in volunteering for a nonprofit? Contact Friends of the Library.