Community connections increase youth volunteerism!
So how rockin' is this?
As part of my previous job as Service Learning Coordinator at NCSSM, I had a sit down meeting with Corinne at the Volunteer Center of Durham. See, we have this Summer Service program, a requirement for graduation where students give at least 60 hours of volunteerism to an NC nonprofit agency, preferably in their home county. They serve AND learn: interviewing clients and staff, creating a localized fact sheet, keeping a journal, and receiving evaluations from their supervisor and themselves. It's good times.
Now, NCSSM folks often do more than the minimum, and this is no exception. We often have a handful of students, maybe 2 or 3, go over 100 hours.
The Volunteer Center of Durham has a similar program, where students in the triangle area (Wake, Orange and Durham counties) who give 100+ hours of service over a summer. Similar! Hmm...
So back to our sit down. We agreed on a deal, of sorts (note: cost us Nothing! Just a willingness to help each other I guess). The deal was
- NCSSM would publicize the Volunteer Center's Mayors award through our Summer Service program prominently and remind students during the summer about the award.
- The Volunteer Center would accept our paperwork and confirmation for students who did over 100 hours of service through our program.
Mutually helpful! And in the end, the number of students giving significantly more service to triangle area nonprofits increased, and the number of hours given increased somewhere in the tune of hundreds of more hours to triangle nonprofits.
Quantity and quality aren't the same, of course (which is why we have learning components, a selection process, evals and the like), but it's still a great example of positive, free relationships benefitting communities. Just go out and meet folks. Good things often happen, at least in my experience.
And I like getting emails like this:
peace,mike
As part of my previous job as Service Learning Coordinator at NCSSM, I had a sit down meeting with Corinne at the Volunteer Center of Durham. See, we have this Summer Service program, a requirement for graduation where students give at least 60 hours of volunteerism to an NC nonprofit agency, preferably in their home county. They serve AND learn: interviewing clients and staff, creating a localized fact sheet, keeping a journal, and receiving evaluations from their supervisor and themselves. It's good times.
Now, NCSSM folks often do more than the minimum, and this is no exception. We often have a handful of students, maybe 2 or 3, go over 100 hours.
The Volunteer Center of Durham has a similar program, where students in the triangle area (Wake, Orange and Durham counties) who give 100+ hours of service over a summer. Similar! Hmm...
So back to our sit down. We agreed on a deal, of sorts (note: cost us Nothing! Just a willingness to help each other I guess). The deal was
- NCSSM would publicize the Volunteer Center's Mayors award through our Summer Service program prominently and remind students during the summer about the award.
- The Volunteer Center would accept our paperwork and confirmation for students who did over 100 hours of service through our program.
Mutually helpful! And in the end, the number of students giving significantly more service to triangle area nonprofits increased, and the number of hours given increased somewhere in the tune of hundreds of more hours to triangle nonprofits.
Quantity and quality aren't the same, of course (which is why we have learning components, a selection process, evals and the like), but it's still a great example of positive, free relationships benefitting communities. Just go out and meet folks. Good things often happen, at least in my experience.
And I like getting emails like this:
Hello Mike,
I'm a rising junior who chose to do the community service this summer. I just wanted to let you know that I completed 103 hours at the Salvation Army of Wake County, so I think I qualify for the Mayor's Award. Thank you for letting us know about this opportunity! =)
Lina Carballo.
peace,mike
Labels: NCSSM, Service Learning, Volunteer Center of Durham, Volunteerism
posted by Mike Dolan Fliss at
8/09/2007 09:45:00 AM
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