Sophomores

Community Service

Writer’s Notebooks

Writing Prompt:• Write about a time when someone else

helped you accomplish a goal. What happened? How did you feel?

• Write continuously for 10 minutes. • You will be asked to share.

Community In and Outside of the Classroom

• Curriculum Framing QuestionsEssential Question: What makes a good community?

Guiding Questions: What is a community?What do communities need?How can you contribute to your community?

Community Service ProjectPurpose

• Build classroom culture and community• Students will learn:

• how to take responsibility for their own actions and help others

• how to apply these skills inside and outside of the classroom

• The culmination of the unit will be to design and carry out a service project for a community of their choice (i.e. the local neighborhood, school, etc.)

Community Service ProjectWHY?

• To learn about an activity or organization that interests you

• To beat boredom (if you find yourself sitting around the house feeling totally bored, volunteering in an activity you enjoy can be a great way to change things)

• To overcome a loss you have experienced (one of the best ways to help yourself in a time of loss is to help others)

• To gain perspective on life (there is no better way to understand your blessings than to help people in need)

• Your own personal reasons. (i.e. learning about yourself)

Just a few ideas…• Brainstorm Ideas (I WILL TAKE THESE UP)

• Get with a partner• Concerns: make a list of different things in your

communities that concern you• Neighborhood concerns or School concerns• On a separate piece of paper, write:1. At least 5 concerns (10-15 minutes)2. Suggestions for solutions to the concerns, 1 for each

concern. (10-15 minutes)3. Discuss which options are most realistic (5-10 minutes)

Paper Set Up1. Concern:

Suggestion:

Realistic?:

2. Concern:

Suggestion:

Realistic?:

Example

Concern: There are a lot of kids out on the streets with nothing to do but get in trouble.

Suggestion: Building a new recreation center to keep kids off the street.

Realistic?: No. Organizing an after school program might be more realistic.

Some ideas about where you can do community service…

Homeless Shelters

• What they do:• Help homeless people with meals, beds and other

services. • What you can do:

• Most homeless shelters welcome volunteers and have a variety of programs through which you can get involved. You might help prepare or distribute meals, work behind the scenes in the business office, help organize a food drive to stock the pantry, etc.

Food Banks

• What they do:– Food banks often work with homeless shelters,

but they also serve people living in the community (especially around the holidays).

• What you can do:– Food banks collect food, manage their inventory

and distribute food to those in need.

Ronald McDonald House

• What they do:• When a child is seriously ill, the child is frequently

treated for long periods of time at a hospital or university medical center. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a low-cost "home-away-from-home" for parents and children to stay during treatment.

• What you can do:• Volunteers help prepare meals, talk to families,

take care of the house and so on.

Special Olympics

• What they do:• "Special Olympics is an international program of year-

round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with mental retardation."

• What you can do:• First, visit the web site. There are a lot of also

describes a wide variety of volunteer activities, including sports training, fund raising, administrative help, competition planning and staffing, etc. Look in the phone book for a local office or search the Special Olympics Web Site for more information

Habitat for Humanity

• What they do:– Habitat for Humanity builds and gives houses to

poor people in local communities.

• What you can do:– Volunteers not only help others, but can learn a

great deal about building houses by getting involved.

State Parks

• What you can do:– Many state parks offer volunteer programs, and in

these programs you can try anything from educational programs to trail construction and maintenance

Helping Others Learn to Read

• What you can do:– Reading is one of the most important skills an

adult can have. Many adults, however, have never learned how to read. Literacy volunteers act as tutors who help illiterate children and adults learn this important skill.

Hospitals

• What you can do:– Many hospitals have volunteer programs to help

patients both inside and outside the hospital. The volunteers programs allow participants to explore medical careers and gain work experience.

Libraries

• What you can do:– Many libraries need help re-shelving books,

running children's programs, making books available to the community, and so on.

Senior Citizens Centers

• What you can do:– Senior citizen centers offer volunteer programs to

provide friendship and community activities to senior citizens.

Animal Shelters

• What you can do:– Many animal shelters are non-profit or

government organizations, and therefore they welcome volunteers to help take care of animals, keep facilities clean and work with the public.

Red Cross

• What they do:– The American Red Cross helps people in

emergencies - whether it's half a million disaster victims or one sick child who needs blood.

• What you can do:– Volunteer opportunities exist across the country.

Contact your local Red Cross for more information.

Salvation Army

• What they do:– The Salvation Army provides social services,

rehabilitation centers, disaster services, worship opportunities, character building activities for all ages and character building groups and activities for all ages.

• What you can do:– Volunteer opportunities exist across the country.

Some ideas….• One of the hardest parts of volunteering can be

finding a volunteering opportunity that fits your personality. The following list will give you lots of different ideas and will show you many different possibilities. Look in your local area until you find a volunteer position that works for you.

• From the list of ideas you brainstormed or we talked about, write down at least two ideas that appeal to you and 3-4 sentences for each about why it appeals to you.

Brooklyn kids give back in South Africa

• Story Highlights

• Thirty kids from Bushwick, Brooklyn, took part in "Journey for Change"

• Kids, ages 12 to 15, volunteered to serve the impoverished, AIDS orphans

• Kids were required to sign one-year contracts to become "global ambassadors"

• Community Service Documentary Clip

Usher goes from megastar to mentor at camp

• Story Highlights • Usher's Camp New Look helps kids from underserved

communities

• Campers learn business behind entertainment and sports industries

• Singer serves as mentor to more than 100 participants

• Usher, who was mentored, said camp represents his "heart work"Community Service Documentary Clip 2