Archive for the ‘Service Learning’ Category

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Action Heroes Needed!

Monday, July 2nd, 2012

Today is a BIG day for youth service! “Why?” you ask. July 2nd is the beginning of generationOn’s summer youth service campaign, Community Action Heroes. In partnership with Hasbro, generationOn wants parents to teach their kids or teens the importance of serving their communities.

Summer is the perfect time to get kids involved in volunteerism with all the extra time they have on their hands! GenerationOn will rally thousands of youth volunteers to become active heroes within their community.

How does it work? Interested parents and youth can access the Community Action Hero application through the generationOn website. Kids can choose a challenge team and project ideas. Once a pledge is made, kids can also challenge their friends to be heroes through the use of social media. Once the challenge is met, kids can share their projects through video, essays, or pictures to inspire other youth. All participants will receive a certificate of completion after the project as well!

What issues can your kid pledge to volunteer for?

  • Animals: Five to seven million animals are rescued by shelters annually. Your child can help animals in the community by donating cat or dog food, bathing and playing with shelter animals, cleaning a dog park, raising money for guide dog training, creating emergency preparedness packs for pets, raising money for animal shelters, etc.
  • Literacy: Although summer is a great time to catch up on a new book, many kids do not have access to reading materials in their community. Kids can make a big difference for their neighbors by writing letters to policy makers asking to make education a priority, reading to other children, holding a book drive, organizing a book fair benefit, etc.
  • Health: Summer is a great time to be active outside, but unfortunately not all kids are healthy enough to play outside. Your child or teen can be a hero for sick children by making a lemonade stand, making books to make a smile, bingo at a senior home, anti-bullying posters, toy drives, etc.
  • Environment: No matter your age or size, we all have the power to improve our environment. Your child or teen can learn the value of helping the environment by getting his or her household to use eco-friendly cleaner, cleaning up a park or nature walk, hosting a green thumb party, cleaning up a lake or river, starting a recycling program, etc.
  • Homelessness: 770,000 homeless children are currently enrolled in United States public schools; the summer time is even harder because they do not have the safety of a school. Your child or teen can get involved in solving this important problem by making a work of art for a shelter, making a pillow buddy, hosting a princess party to collect fairytale books, making health kits, collecting school supplies boxes, advocating for the homeless, etc.
  • Hunger: Although summer is a special time for certain seasonal meal favorites, many kids do not receive their proper nutrients because they do not get school lunches in the summer. Your child or teen can be a hero for hungry children by participating in meals on wheels, making lunches, sharing extra food from their garden, hosting a fundraiser event to tackle hunger, etc.
  • Military: Our military men and women volunteer their lives daily to better our country, Your child or teen can show his or her gratitude to military servicemen  and veterans by making care packages, sending letters, sending them fun items to bring a smile, hosting a veterans’ dinner, interviewing and sharing a veteran’s story with the Library or Congress, etc.
  • Emergency prep: Summer is a time to relax, but is also a time for many heat related disasters and emergencies. Be a hero in your community and get others prepared by providing hurricane victims with essential items, collecting smoke detector batteries, making and delivering first aid kits, raise awareness about summer emergencies, providing homeless shelters with evacuation plans, etc.

The world needs more action heroes, are you up to the challenge? We hope that your children will make the pledge to accept one of these eight hero challenges to better his or her community!

Check out generationOn, the youth volunteer enterprise of Point of Light, to learn more about the Community Action Hero Challenge.

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Benefits of the Service Leader Certificate Program

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Today’s post comes from Stephanie Manciagli, an AmeriCorps member of the HandsOn University team. Stephanie is the Resource Development Specialist for HandsOn University.

In Stephanie’s post, she reflects upon the positive experience she had with the HandsOn Service Leader Certificate Program.

I recently took the Service Leader Certificate Course online through HandsOn Network and had the most amazing experience!  The course was exactly what I had hoped for: a great instruction for planning service projects and leading teams.  I am usually not very tech-savvy so I was very pleased with the course’s easy-to-use format.

Upon registering through the Hands On website, I received a confirmation email within seconds that directed me to the course home page.  The home page has links to each course and its accompanying assessment. To start, all you have to do is click the “Course 101” tab, and it will open up a new page to start the course. When you are done with each course, I liked that I could exit out of the course and the original course home page was still up.

The courses are set up like a slide show.   On certain pages there is text to read, and in others there is a speaker elaborating on bullet point text. The format allows you to pace yourself through the course, by pausing after each slide. Tabs on the left of the screen allow you to pause, rewind, and fast forward at your will, which is great for taking notes or taking a break.  I also liked that the course tracks and saves your progress as you go, so if you [accidently] exit out of the course, you can resume where you left off when you open the course again. Another thing I liked was the assessment questions that followed each course.  Realizing that I had retained the information that I had just learned reinforced my excitement for learning the material and challenged me to do better in each course…………………..

Courses 101-103 taught me the skills I need to know to be a Service Leader.  I have volunteered in the past, and have been interested in taking on leadership positions, but always felt that I lacked the proper skills to excel in such a position.  This course taught me what I need to know, such as, how to inspire action, mobilize others to effect change, and manage a team.  The text gives both broad outlines and specific examples of how to plan a project from beginning to end, which is extremely helpful for someone like me, who has only served as a volunteer at service events, and never planned an event.  Even more than teaching me the skills I need to know, I found these courses inspiring.  Every month I write in my planner, “Volunteer somewhere!,” or “Plan a Service Project,” but never actually do it, due to one thing or another.  After taking this course, I feel motivated and prepared to make a difference, and know I will feel proud as I reintegrate service into my life.

The Service Leader Certificate Program is an excellent way to advance your volunteer skills. National Volunteer Week is coming up (April 15 through April 21)  this is the perfect time to advance your service knowledge and become a certified service leader!

Have you taken this course? How did you benefit?

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Join the AmeriCorps Book Club

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Today’s post originally appeared on the AmeriCorps Alums blog site January 23, 2012. The post was written by Ken Tran the External Relations Coordinator at AmeriCorps Alums.

January is Book Blitz Month – an opportunity for authors to promote with media to get their books into the best sellers list and into the hands of readers like us! As an AmeriCorps Alum, I’d like to see some of our next New York Times Bestselling Authors to be ones that are passionate about National Service and care about  Millennials leading in that movement.

After a great twitter conversation with (Arizona’s CNCS State Director) and (Seattle AmeriCorps Alums Chapter Leader) about starting an , I put together a list of recommended books that would be great to read as we all continue our Lifetime of Service. All the books on this list feature stories of AmeriCorps or National Service; helping us understand where Service has been and where it is going, especially as we continue to advocate to Save Service and why it is essential to fostering a stronger future for America.

See what we’ll be reading on our AmeriCorps Book Club Reading List:

The Time of Our Lives – Tom Brokaw

Why you should read it: Brokaw, former anchor of NBC’s Nightly News, looks at some of the prevalent issues affecting our Millennial generation and offers insight into how we can revitalize the American Dream through civic engagement and community. Weaving stories from his family’s upbringing in South Dakota and reflections from Americans who are change agents in their communities, he provides a hopeful vision of what our country can be, even in these hard times.

The Bill – Steven Waldman

Why you should read it: In recent years, many cuts to National Service and AmeriCorps have been debated in Congress. To understand the public policies and legislative processes at work, we’ll need to take a trip down memory lane and look at how the National Service Bill was initially passed under the Clinton administration. For those of us who aren’t as knowledgeable in the workings at the Hill, this will be a great read to help us understand what’s in motion and at stake as we continuing to Save Service.

A Call to Civic Service – Charles Moskos

Why you should read it: Moskos calls for all young Americans, between the ages of 18 – 23, to serve in some capacity in National Service to their country. Whether it be serving in day care, correctional facilities, with the poor in health, etc or in the All-Volunteer Military Force, he believes that young Americans should be giving back to strengthen their country. Sounds like something we all can relate too…

Of Kennedys and Kings – Harris Wofford

Why you should read it: Wofford, one of the founders of Peace Corps and former CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service, recounts what can be accomplished with leaders, like the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, JR, who committed to public service and being responsible with their political powers. As the 2012 elections are coming up, we as alumni of National Service, we want to make sure that we elect a leader that will reflect, support, and implement our values.

This is just a short list and I’m positive there are other books you’d love to see on this growing list. What books would you recommend to be added in the AmeriCorps Book Club?

 

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How Service Can Be Added to Your Classroom Lesson Plan

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Service learning projects are an important addition to the enrichment of education. Service projects are important not only because they can be incorporated into the learning environment of the classroom, but also they can teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities. The most important thing that service learning can add to an educational atmosphere is an answer to the question “Why do I need to learn this” because it adds a real life application to daily lessons.

It is important that service to the community is taught at an early age, to ensure a lifetime of service and giving to others. Children who serve together tend to have higher levels of self-respect, character development, and academic achievement. Projects can be big or small depending on your classroom schedule and time availability. Projects should also be developed based upon your class’s age level.

So you want to start a classroom volunteer project? How on Earth do you begin a service project especially with young kids and very little time to stray away from lesson plans? Here are some project ideas for all types of ages and schedules:

  • Preschool age: Teach your class about sharing through a cheer cards service project. Provide construction paper, crayons, pictures, etc. to your class. Ask students to think of an individual who has made them happy in the past year. The students will make a card for that person with a “cheery” message attached to spread happiness with loved ones.
  • Kindergarten age: Spread the message of kindness and friendship with your class by making pet collars for shelter animals. These collars can be made out of felt or cotton and decorated by your students. Once the collars are finished they can be donated to a local animal shelter. Teach children about animals while doing this project.
  • Elementary school age: teach respect to your classroom by making friendship quilts. Have students decorate a cloth square with messages or pictures of peace and friendship. Put all of the squares together as a quilt or string of messages. If your class has extra time, students may also make peace cards to accompany the quilt. Once the quilt is completed, it can be donated to your local shelter.
  • Middle school age: teach your class the power of giving by holding a class or school-wide food drive, canned goods drive, clothing drive, or coat drive. Have each classroom make a box to collect donations in. This box should be visible in the classroom so that others know about the drive. Let others know about your donation drive by having a write up in your school newsletters, a note to parents, or local organization announcement.

With the right amount of planning and development your class really can give back to the community at any age. Whether your project is big or small children really do learn the power of giving back by participating in service projects.

The holidays are the easiest time to give back this year, with a wide variety of projects to choose from. You classroom can join GenerationOn this year from November 29 to December 13 for their Holiday Gift Campaign. Get your classroom service project started by having your students pledge service to GenerationOn, every pledge of service will be honored by Hasbro who will donate a toy to a child in need.

Do you have more ideas to get a classroom involved in service? We would love for you to share with us!

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3 Big Ideas for Building Service Learning Partnerships

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Today’s post comes from Shane Williamson, Community Learning Specialist at HandsOn Battle Creek.

HandsOn Battle Creek, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, has worked with their local community college (Kellogg Community College), K-12 public/private schools, and The LEAGUE Michigan, to lay the foundation for a community wide service-learning partnership. The goal of the partnership is to incorporate the concept of service learning into school lesson plans and missions as well as increase the amount of support and capacity for non-profits to manage volunteers and their own community impact goals. While this process takes time, there are some guides, from our experience, for those volunteer centers looking to start these types of initiatives in their community.

  1. Seek out your local higher educational institution. Colleges and universities are almost always looking for a way to get involved in the community in which they are located. Between your volunteer center’s contacts, the college’s contacts with community partners and their base of students (who are great volunteers), you will be able to begin incorporating service through those channels. This can lead to inclusion of faculty and academic programs in the future; thus leading to service learning.
  2. Do not try to “reinvent the wheel”. Work with organizations that are already doing the work you want to accomplish. At HandsOn Battle Creek, we already were partnered with The LEAGUE Michigan. This organization’s mission is to recruit and train K-12 teachers in the concept of service learning leading to a sustained presence of this concept in the schools. HandsOn Battle Creek was able to use their partnership to branch out to almost every school in the Battle Creek area. We are now seeing positive results from the trainings with the amount of projects taking place in the schools that are tied back to academic curriculum.
  3. Engage community partners every step of the way.  Your community partners will let you know what type of capacity they have for student volunteering. They will also let you know what they need in order to increase that capacity. Meeting with community partners, offering trainings on the concept of service-learning, and regularly checking in, has made the process of building this community-wide initiative possible. Without these commitments from our community it would be impossible for our college to begin making a service learning experience mandatory in the coming academic year.

These are basic types of guidelines, but the bottom line to each of them is that you must listen to your community at every level. This type of concept cannot be prescriptive. If all groups, students, schools, and organizations come together and have a stake in the process of building this type of relationship; the outcome will be more sustainable and long lasting.

We would love to share our experiences, information, and work in this field. let us know what your experience working to build a service-learning program has been in the comments!

 

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Tips for Building School and Nonprofit Partnerships

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

Service learning is a great tool to get students more involved in their communities and great way to teach lessons in a way that is meaningful. It allows students to put their lessons into practice and see the results of their efforts.

Before you start planning service-learning projects, though, it’s a good idea to build partnerships with some local nonprofits.

Building a partnership allows students an opportunity to return to the same nonprofits and see the impact of their work. Partnerships also let teachers build better projects with the help of the nonprofit, and nonprofits get to share their issue areas with students.

Before building partnerships, though, there are some questions that schools and nonprofits should find out the answers to.

What should nonprofits ask schools or teachers?

  • What experiences have you had in community service or volunteering? What impact have those experiences had on you?
  • Why are you interested in a partnership?
  • What do you think is the most important reason for involving youth in service learning?
  • How could service learning help you to address major challenges you face in educating students?
  • If you could make one dream come true through service learning, what would it be?
  • What is the one thing you hope your students would learn about our community and society?

What should schools or teachers ask nonprofits?

  • What have been your organization’s experiences in working with schools?
  • What have been your experiences working with children and teens in your agency?
  • Why are you interested in a partnership?
  • What do you think is the most important reason for involving youth in service learning through your organization?
  • What are the major challenges you face in providing service to our community?
  • If you could make one dream come true for those served through your agency, what would it be?
  • What is the one thing you most hope service learning will accomplish in our community and society?
Finding out the answers to these questions can help to build a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between schools and nonprofits that can help to support service learning programs.
Have you built partnerships with nonprofits or schools? Let us know in the comments what you think is important to know when you’re starting a new partnership!

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The Importance of Mutual Respect to Youth Service and Leadership

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

When you’re trying to engage youth in volunteering and service learning programs, it’s important to respect the skills and viewpoints that they can bring to the table. Positive relationships depend on mutual respect.

Respect – Respect means that adults respect youth and youth respect adults for their ideas, skills, experiences, and resources. When people are respected, they are freed to take risks and to act on their dreams.

Engage – Kids and teenagers need opportunities to engage in meaningful work in their communities. While administrative chores are a necessary part of most service projects, the ‘grunt work’ shouldn’t fall solely on the kids and teens while adults assume all of the major responsibilities.

Support – Agencies need to invest in youth just as they would invest in any volunteer effort. That investment may include training, supervision, supplying materials and other needs. In return, youth should support the agency and program by being dependable, participating in training opportunities and acting and speaking responsibly on the agency’s behalf.

Partner – Youth leadership is really a partnership between youth and adults who work side by side to plan, manage, serve, and evaluate based on a common goal. Both youth and adults are colleagues in the process, each brining particular strengths and perspectives to decision making, priorities, and project management.

Evaluate – Young people, along with adults, need regular opportunities to evaluate their own efforts in terms of the services being offered and what they are learning from their involvement. Continuous evaluation allows for improvements based on what has been learned.

Communicate – Regular communications of expectations, needs, concerns, and affirmation by both adults and young people create a healthy environment and can prevent problems.

Train – Although some people have natural leadership ability, no one is expected to become a leader without preparation and training. Young people are no different. They need training before they begin their service, and they need ongoing training and refelction to improve their knowledge and skills. They also need to be given an opportunity to make mistakes and to learn from them.

 

 

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8 Tips for Making Service Learning Work

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Several factors make a big difference in whether an agency’s efforts in service learning are effective.

Agency-wide commitment

An organization’s commitment to service learning often starts with on person advocating for including service learning in the organization and bringing others to share their perspective. once a commitment to service learning permeates the organization, it will become much simpler to sustain a quality program because everyone in the organization is committed to service learning.

Youth serve and lead

Effective service learning efforts see students as key members of the planning team, not just participants. Giving students opportunities to assess needs, develop plans, and implement projects contributes to their growth.

Strong school partnerships

Agencies can operate effective student community service program on their own, but service learning has the most impact when it involves a partnership with a school so that students can take full advantage of the elarning that is stimulated through the service experience.

Clear learning and service goals

Not every service opportunity will appeal to everyone. Students will need to do their share of the work that doesn’t seem as exciting as the actual service, like finding a project site, identifying community needs, and planning what the project will look like.

By working with other students, teachers, community members and other partners to set learning goals and how those goals will be achieved can make the service more meaningful and productive.

Age-appropriate, meaningfl service

Just as you would match anyone’s skills and strengths with a particular service area, the same is essential in working with students. Projects or assignments need to take into account the students’ abilities so they can be stimulated, challenged, interested, and engaged by the service experience.

Effective program management

Service learning is most effective when it builds on a well-managed volunteer program with established procedures. In these cases the basic processes and procedures are already in place and can be adapted to the particular needs of students and service learning.

Sustained involvement

One shot service projects can build enthusiasm and interest, they’re harder to build a quality service learning experience around. To be most effective in providing long-term involvement, schools, students and agencies need to work together to plan how the service-learning program will grow.

Reflection

Reflection is an essential component of service learning. It completes the learning cycle, giving students the opportunity to think about what they did, what it means, and what they will do because of their experience.

this not only benefits the students, but it also strengthens the service they provide. As the students become more knowledgeable and sensitive about the issues, more skilled in the activities, and more aware of an organization’s needs and challenges, they can become better at planning their service projects.

 

Have you involved your students in planning service learning projects? Do you work with an agency that has a lot of service learning students volunteer? Let us know what you’ve found works best for planning service learning projects in the comments!

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18 Benefits of Service Learning

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

When done well, service learning has the potential to benefit everyone involved.

While involving children and teenagers in service learning requires a significant commitment and may require redesigning some elements of your volunteer program, many agencies find that the rewards more than make up for the extra work. Agencies have seen many benefits when they include youth service learning in their volunteer programs:

  • Agencies gain new partners in their efforts to fulfill their mission
  • Young people bring a sense of vitality and excitement to the organization
  • The agency gains positive visibility and exposure in the community and the school
  • Service learning can open up new opportunities for funding and other resources
  • By involving young people in an agency’s work, service learning helps to nurture the next generation of committed volunteers

Just as anyone who provides service gains from the experience, students benefit particularly when their needs for learning are taken into account in the planning and implementation of a project. There are a lot of benefits for students who take an active role in planning and executing their own service projects when they’re tied to a lesson plan:

  • Service learning can enhance personal development in areas such as self esteem, moral reasoning, social skills, communication skills, problem-solving abilities and concern for others and society
  • Involvement in service learning makes the subject matter in school real and relevant for students as they try out their knowledge and skills
  • When young people serve others, they can see that they are valued and can make a real difference
  • As young people discover their own abilities to address issues, they are empowered to become active citizens and communities begin to see them in a different light
  • Young people learn leadership skills as they take responsibility for designing and implementing service experiences

There is virtually no limit to what young people can do, no social need they cannot help meet. Through service-learning programs, communities gain many things:

  • Unmet needs are addressed and problems solved
  • Creative ideas and solutions are offered for perplexing problems.
  • New energy and commitment emerge for the community and the common good.
  • Communities see students as valuable resources

As schools search for more effective educational strategies, many are turning to service learning as a powerful method for revitalizing education and improving student achievement. When students participate in service learning, schools benefit:

  • Students are more engaged in their education and their community
  • Students learn more readily because they are learning by doing
  • Community members become partners with schools in educating students
  • Schools are seen as resources to the community, helping t build support for the schools

 

Have you planned service-learning projects with your students? Has your organization benefited from students’ service-learning projects? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

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7 Tips for Successful Service-Learning Projects

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Service-learning projects can be a great way to get youth involved in service. Here are seven tips for planning effective service-learning projects.

Choose age appropriate projects. Younger students will respond well to projects that have a lot of action and that have results that are easy to see. Projects like park cleanups and helping to sort food in a food pantry are great for younger students. Older students usually like longer-term projects that allow them to get more involved with the work they’re doing and the people they’re serving.

Keep it simple! Meaningful projects don’t have to involve extended planning – they can be simple and take place at the students’ school.

Have the students help plan the project. Involving students in planning the project from the start will help to give them a sense of ownership to the project and help them to get more involved.

Develop partnerships. Setting up a partnership with your local HandsOn Action Center or volunteer center can be helpful in planning a variety of projects. Ask students to suggest a group they’d like to serve and build a relationship with an organization that serves that group of people.

Engage students in reflection. Reflection on the service aspect of students’ service-learning experience is a key element of the project. The time spent in reflection allows for teachable moments and can improve students’ understanding of both the service that they did and how the lessons they’ve learned relate to their service. Some good questions to ask during your reflection time are:

  • How did our project make a difference? Is there anything else we could have done?
  • What did we learn that we can apply to other parts of our lives?
  • How did helping people make you feel?
  • Should we do a follow up project? What more can we do?

Celebrate efforts. It’s important to recognize the work that students are doing for their service-learning projects. Make sure to praise students during the planning and implementation phases of their projects, and afterwards when you come together to reflect on the work that was done. If organization staff or clients come to you to thank you for your work, graciously accept their thanks but remind them that the students are the ones who planned the project and are doing the work so that they can thank the students directly.

Have fun. Service-learning projects are teaching tools, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun! Make sure to build fun into the project, even though there is a lesson attached to it and the service project may be serious. Service and volunteering is as much about having fun as it is about helping others.

Have you planned a service-learning project with students? How did it turn out? Let us know in the comments!

Today’s post on the Points of Light blog talks about the importance of service learning in instilling an ethic of service in youth. You can read it here.

Read this post on the National Conference on Volunteering and Service to find out about sessions that deal with youth service and using service as a tool in education.

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