Service-Learning

Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others? -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Service-Learning at Southern Vermont College

The working definition of service-learning developed by the College is such that service-learning is a method:

Under which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs and course learning objectives;
That is integrated into the student's academic curriculum or provides structured time for a student to think, talk, or write about what the student did and saw during the service activity;
That enhances what is taught in class by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community and helps foster the development of service to others;
That provides students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities.

Adapted from the Commission on National and Community Service (now the Corporation for National and Community Service).

Service-learning reflects the College's mission to prepare graduates to be "citizen leaders able to face the challenges presented by a complex, global society."

Why Become a Service-Learner?

Service and helping others can be a very rewarding experience in itself. However, a volunteer experience could have many additional benefits.

Citizenship Growth

Learn to see everyone's role in the community.
Gain an awareness of community needs.
Attain a belief that one person can make a difference.

Intellectual Growth

Improve problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Develop critical-thinking skills.
Use your academic knowledge and apply it for the good of the community.
Help develop new ways to help others.

Social Growth

Improve your leadership skills.
Learn to work on a team.
Understand your role in the world.

Personal Growth

Build your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Learn how to take risks and accept challenges.
Gain a sense of belonging.
Connect yourself to others with similar interests.

Career Development

Gain work experience in your field.
Make contacts with individuals who may provide a future job or valuable work reference.
Professionalism—learn how to function in a work environment (dress, manners, etc.).
Get first-hand experience in the working world within your field.

Additional Community Service-Learning Opportunities

America Reads

The America Reads Challenge is a grassroots national campaign that challenges every American to help all of our children, including English language learners and students with disabilities, learn to read independently and well by the third grade. Current sites include: Bennington Bookmobile, Bennington Elementary School, Head Start School, Molly Stark Elementary School, and Oak Hill Daycare Center.

Mentoring

As a mentor, you will have the opportunity to have a profound impact on a young person's life by giving them guidance through your own personal experience. Current opportunities: Bennington elementary School through the Bennington Mentoring Consortium, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Career Development Center at Mount Anthony Union High School, and JUMP at the Molly Stark Elementary School.

Community Service Work-Study

The College's Career Services Office offers community service related work-study positions at various non-profit agencies in Bennington. A few of these sites are the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, CAT-TV, Project Against Violent Encounters, Red Cross, Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging, and Southwestern Vermont Healthcare.

Student Service Leadership Corps

As a Service Leader, you will work to meet real community needs while developing your own skills as a leader. Service leaders dedicate themselves to a certain number of community service hours and building student leadership on-campus in exchange for an Education Award. Conferences and training are provided.

Additional Opportunities

Volunteer opportunities are unlimited! You can join Southern Vermont College's Community Action Club or check out the list in Career Services of over 80 local organizations, which look for volunteers. Stop by and take a look!

Resources

Vermont Campus Compact: Vermont Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of college and university presidents, established to promote the integration of public service into the academic, student life, and civic goals of member institutions.
Campus Compact
Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL)
Corporation for National Service
Service-Learning Home on the Web

The following courses may have a service-learning component:

Introduction to American Politics
Interviewing and Counseling
Counseling Individuals and Families
Holistic Nursing - Population at Risk
Community Care of Vulnerable Populations
Psychology
Lifespan Development
Sociology
Social Problems
Senior Seminar in Social Science