How to Get Involved
Benefits of Service Learning/Volunteering “Receive as much as you give”
Benefits of Volunteering - When volunteering in the community, you:
- Gain a sense of satisfaction
- Know that you are needed
- See that you are making a difference in someone’s life
- Help the advancement of a cause
- Learn a new skill
- Make a new friend
- Put something important on your resume
- Put something important on college transfer applications
Benefits to Students – The students’ learning experience is enhanced because they get to apply theoretical ideas they’ve learned in class in a very practical way, by applying them to real-life situations.
- When students are involved in service learning, they:
- Enrich and apply classroom knowledge
- Explore careers/majors
- Broaden horizons
- Document experiences
- Have a chance to make a difference
- Improve citizenship, life, self-learning, occupational, and critical thinking skills
- Improve self-esteem
- Enjoy
- Become aware of their community and its needs
- Develop ethically and morally
Benefits to Community/The Organization – Students provide a service to non-profit agencies that cannot otherwise be met due to the small budget non-profits work under. When students volunteer in the community as part of their coursework, the community/organization:
- Participates in students education
- Gains future citizen support
- Increases ability to hire good students
- Gets new ideas to meet human needs
- Receives mutually beneficial interactions
- Gains new roles for supervisors
- Develops better community resources for all citizens
- Receives continuing support from citizens who are becoming more aware of the needs and resources in the community
- Receives needed publicity about their needs and services
- Advocacy*
- Animal Protection/Care*
- Arts/Culture*
- Childcare/After School Programs
- Coaching Youth/Athletics
- Community/Civic Organizations/Scouts
- Corrections/Law Enforcement
- Developmentally Disabled (Physically and Mentally Challenged)
- Education/Tutoring
- Elderly/Senior Citizens
- Emergency/Crisis/Disaster Assistance
- Family/Human Services
- Fire/Rescue
- Food/Hunger
- Fundraising/Special Events/Festivals
- Healthcare/Hospital
- Homelessness/Poverty Prevention and Assistance
- Mental Health
- Mentoring Youth
- Military
- Museums/Historical Preservation*
- Parks/Nature/Environmental
- Political Campaigns
- Recreation/Sports
- Religious Community/Religious Education
- Substance Abuse
- Support Services
- Youth Services
Service Learning Forms for Students, Clubs and Organizations – Forms needed for students, clubs, and organizations to documents their service learning hours/project.
Service Learning Hour Report
Service Learning Student Information
Clubs and Organizations - Enrich and apply classroom knowledge