Resources for Service: Practical and Academic

 

Here are the various lists of placements I handed out to the students:

 

Some Service Placements in a Variety of Areas

 

Some Service Placements with Notes for Middle Schoolers

 

Some Service Placements Related to Poverty

 

Some Service Placements Related to Science

 

 

A local website that can be helpful in finding service options:

 

Volunteer Tompkins -- http://volunteertompkins.org/vtm_page.cfm?pg=1

 

Middle and High School students just need to make sure the placement they pick from this site is not only for college students and others over 18 

 

College Service Programs  

 

Although aimed at college students, these sites can be useful for finding out about programs and resources in Ithaca.  Also, as noted on the Challenges page, Ithaca College and Cornell are sources of grants and can provide worthwhile collaboration between ICSD students and college students.

 

Ithaca College - http://www.ithaca.edu/sacl/osema/

 

Cornell - http://www.psc.cornell.edu/

 

TC3 - http://www.tc3.edu/enroll_svc/f_service.asp

 

Clubs and Honor Societies

There is an array of wonderful service clubs at the secondary schools.  Ithaca High, for instance, has everything from an active Red Cross Club to the very popular Invisible Children's Group.  I am not listing all the clubs because that was not the focus of the sabbatic and the names are readily available in each school.  As I discuss in Directions for Service at Ithaca High and Service From Scratch, clubs are often socio-economically homogeneous, with most of the students already being firmly on a college track.  Clubs are an excellent way to have student-directed service, but questions of equity and school ethos are involved. 

 

Websites about Service -- Trainings, Grants, and More (compiled by Sue Schwartz as part of her workshop on Service Learning for ICSD in 2010)

 

Ithaca Public Education Initiative: http://www.ipei.org/

• Several grant opportunities for local teachers.  

 

KIDS Consortium http://www.kidsconsortium.org/

• Great frameworks for service-learning, small grant funding
• Excellent training opportunities, including the Summer Service-Learning Institute for Educators, One-day “Project Citizen” workshops and the“Project Citizen Week-long Institute” July 19-25,  2010 (This year I believe the travel food, lodging and materials are provided by the The Center for Civic Education; go to the KIDS Consortium website for more information) 

 

National Youth Leadership Council: http://www.nylc.org/index.cfm

• Fact sheets, service-learning project ideas, links to other resources
• NYLC National Service-Learning Conference (March 24-27 2010)
• Certificate of Excellence in Service-Learning (on line)

 

Youth Service America: http://ysa.org/

• Grant opportunities, 
• Opportunities to publicize your service-learning project
• Global Youth Service Day

 

National Service-Learning Clearninghouse: http://www.servicelearning.org

• Fact sheets, service-learning project ideas, links to other resources
• Opportunities to publicize your service-learning project

 

Learn and Serve America: http://www.learnandserve.org/

• Grant opportunities, links to other resources

 

National Service-Learning Partnership

http://www.service-learningpartnership.org/site/PageServer

• Advocacy for service-learning
• Professional networks and professional development
• Service-Learning young professionals network

 

Youth Service California: http://www.yscal.org/

• Caesar Chavez service-learning clubs
• Standards of Excellence for Service-Learning in After School Programs
• Great service-learning project ideas

 

Three Useful Books & Periodicals about Service

 

There have been so many books and periodicals published about service, not all of them terribly helpful or easy to sift through.  I have selected three that I have found most useful for both theory and hands-on service. 

 

Service Learning for Youth Empowerment and Social Change.edited by Jeff Claus and Curtis Odgen (New York: Lang, 1999) 

 

Provocative essays about service that help keep one focused on making service about meaningful social change and the creation of empowered citizens 

 

Also check out Professor Claus's website at http://faculty.ithaca.edu/claus/  -- It has links to other service and social justice related material. 

 

The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action.  Cathryn Berger Kaye (Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 2004)

 

Practical guide with a wonderful array of ideas about service for K - 12.  She includes exercises for each stage of a service effort. 

 

Teaching Tolerance.  (Published by The Southern Poverty Law Center) 

 

This magazine focuses on anti-bias work and frequently has service projects connected to the articles.  I imagine all ICSD schools receive hard copies of the magazine and one can search the archive at the Teaching Tolerance website -- http://www.tolerance.org/

 

Special Days/Weeks Related to Volunteerism*

 

*This information was almost entirely taken from the Energize Inc website: http://energizeinc.com/prof/events/eventsNA.html.  Sue Schwartz introduced me to this list. 

 

These special days and weeks, while not always conducive to sustainted, thoughtful service learning, can be helpful in nudging a school toward getting involved in the community and looking beyond tomorrow's assignment.  If one links the special day or week to a project that students have created and/or it is tied in a deep way to the curriculum, then it can be genuine service learning.

 

Of special interest to educators: Consider doing a service project with your students on Global Youth Service Day: April 23-25  Youth Service America offers service project toolkits and opportunities for you to nationally publicize your service project. Visit http://www.ysa.org/ or http://gysd.org/

 

January

 

National Mentoring Month 
Thank Your Mentor Day http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy2008/index.html

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day http://www.mlkday.org/
With "Make it a day ON... Not a day off!" as its slogan, this commemoration is designed to keep Dr. King's legacy of service to others alive in communities across the country.  The day of service is scheduled on his nationally-recognized birthday holiday.

***Also consider joining one of the local annual efforts to honor Dr. King (Check with the Multicultural Resource Center or Cornell University for specific events) OR organize your own service event.***

 

Martin Luther King Jr. birthday will be observed on January 17, 2011

February

Random Acts of Kindness Week
http://www.actsofkindness.org/people/days.asp
Random Acts of Kindness Week is dedicated to celebrating the little things we do for others. There is a Random Acts of Kindness Foundation at http://www.actsofkindness.org. Upcoming Random Acts of Kindness Week: 2010: February 15-21

 

March

Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning - March 31
http://chavezfoundation.org/
An official holiday in six states and dozens of cities and counties throughout the nation, this day honors the life, work, and values of activist Cesar E. Chavez.

 

April

National Volunteer Week in Canada (April)
http://volunteer.ca/nvw
Held to coincide with the American National Volunteer Week dates (see below), Volunteer Canada provides support and media materials to recognize Canadian volunteering.

Suggestion: Visit our Collective Wisdom area to share or read ideas of what to do during National Volunteer Week.

 

National Volunteer Week in the USA (April)
National Volunteer Week, always held in the third week of April unless the spring religious holidays coincide, has been celebrated annually since the 1970s, though its visibility has been reduced by the new "Seasons of Service" calendar of events throughout the year. Now sponsored by the Points of Light Institute. Energize has verified that these are the correct upcoming dates:

2010: April 18 - 24 - The theme for 2010 is Celebrating People In Action. 

2011: April 17-23

2012: April 15-21

2013: April 21-27

National Youth Service Day (now Global Youth Service Day) 
http://www.gysd.net
Occurs each year immediately preceeding National Volunteer Week and celebrates the positive contributions that millions of young people are making in their communities. Major sponsors are Youth Service America and Parade magazine.  Next dates:

2010: April 23-25

 

May

Join Hands Day - first Saturday in May 
http://www.joinhandsday.org
A nationwide volunteer day (sponsored by America's Fraternal Benefit Societies) to bring young people together with adults to create new and better relationships by working as a team within their own neighborhoods.

Americorps Week
http://www.americorpsweek.gov/
AmeriCorps Week is a recruitment and recognition event designed to bring more Americans into service, salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their powerful impact, and thank the community partners who make AmeriCorps possible.

 

July

Mandela Day - July 18 
http://www.mandeladay.com/
An annual celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life (started in 2009) and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to" make an imprint" and change the world around them -- by giving 67 minutes of volunteer service.

 

September

National Day of Service and Remembrance - September 11 
http://www.911dayofservice.org/
September 11th has now been officially designated as the National Day of Service and Remembrance under the 2009 Serve America Act.   It grew out of a series of similar commemorations organized by My Good Deed http://www.mygooddeed.org/.

 

October

Be the Change Day - October 1
http://www.saalt.org/bethechange.php
An annual service day sponsored by South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT).  (Formerly called "National Gandhi Day of Service")

 

Make A Difference Day - 4th Saturday of October 
http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index.html 
Each October, USA Weekend magazine, in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, sponsors a day for people to volunteer and make a difference in the their communities. For more information, dial the Make A Difference Day Hotline, 1-800-416-3824 or visit the Web site. 

 

November

National Family Volunteer Day - the Saturday before Thanksgiving (USA) 
http://disney.go.com/disneyhand/familyvolunteers/ 
Designed to showcase the benefits of families working together in service to the community and encourage those who haven't yet made the commitment to volunteer as a family. National Family Volunteer Day is co-sponsored by Hands On Network and The Walt Disney Company and kicks off National Family Week.

 

National Philanthropy Day 
http://www.afpnet.org/national_philanthropy_day_and_afp_awards
Sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, this day is celebrated around the US by AFP chapters in various ways, often with conferences or awards.  Financial giving is the primary focus, but volunteering is almost always included.

 

Energize Inc. Special Days/Weeks Special Days/Weeks Related to Volunteerism - Celebrated in North America.  Retrieved January 20, 2010 from http://energizeinc.com/prof/events/eventsNA.html