Service Learning and Volunteerism
FCC strives to make service an integral part of our students’ education. Service learning prepares students to be lifelong learners, responsible community members, and become engaged and productive citizens. We involve students in organized community service that addresses local needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility and commitment to the community. Students enrolled in service learning courses perform community service as part of their coursework and receive academic credit; they reflect on their experiences through journals, essays, research papers, group discussions or in-class presentations.
Service learning is a requirement in over a dozen courses, as well as an optional component in numerous other disciplines across the curriculum.
Benefits of Service Learning/Volunteering
“Receive as much as you give”
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
When students are involved in service learning, they:
- Enrich and apply classroom knowledge
- Explore careers/majors
- Broaden horizons
- Have a chance to make a difference
- Improve citizenship, life, self-learning, occupational, and critical thinking skills
- Improve self-esteem
- 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 student education
- Gains future citizen support
- Increases ability to hire good students
- Gets new ideas to meet human needs
- 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
Service Learning Categories
- *Advocacy
- *Animals – Care, Education, Protection and Welfare, Rescue, Therapy
- *Arts – Museums, Historical Preservation
- Children – Childcare, After School Programs, Child Development
- Community – Civic Organizations, Scouts, Municipal Government
- Corrections/Law Enforcement
- Developmentally Disabled – Support Services, Group homes, Therapeutic Riding Program
- Education/Schools – Art, Music, Tutoring, Athletics, ESL, Special Education, Mentoring
- Elderly/Senior Citizens/Older Adults
- Emergency – Crisis, Disaster Assistance, Clean-up
- Family/Support Services
- Fire and Rescue
- Food/Hunger
- Fundraising/Special Events/Festivals
- Health/Wellness – Hospital, YMCA
- Homelessness/Poverty Prevention & Assistance
- Human Services - Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Psychology, Social Work, Substance Abuse
- Military
- Parks/Nature/Environmental
- Political Campaigns
- Recreation/Sports/Fitness – Coaching Youth/Athletics, Athletic Associations, Cheerleading
- Religious Community/Religious Education
- Youth Services and Programs
- Miscellaneous
- *May not be suitable for direct service projects for Sociology 101.
Contact Information
Jeanni Winston-Muir
Executive Director, Office of Student Leadership & Engagement
301.846.2489
Jennifer Moxley
Coordinator of Student Leadership and Service
301-624-2745
Related Information
Office of Student Leadership & Engagement
College Central Network
For more information on getting involved at FCC, please visit the Center for Student Engagement located in the Student Center, H-101