The CSP functions as a clearinghouse for individual and group volunteer activities and supports ongoing community outreach efforts, as well as new student projects that address community needs.

The CSP encourages students to view service as experiential learning and advocates for the integration of thoughtful reflection activities into service experiences. In addition to making a difference in their community, students volunteer for many reasons: to explore a career, to complement their classroom studies, to make new friends, to learn about the local area, and to further social change.

Other opportunities include tutoring adult nonreaders, tutoring at a nearby Native American settlement, becoming a mentor or buddy to a local school child, visiting the elderly, providing enrichment art, language, and science activities for kids, working with the homeless in Des Moines, counseling battered women, or participating in the Unified Sports program of Iowa Special Olympics. Students contribute as much time as they wish to give to volunteer projects. Some projects involve one to five hours a week, others happen on a once-a-year basis.