Founded in 1995, Leaders Across Campus matches successful students who have a genuine heart of service with at-risk incoming freshmen, international students, returning veterans, or students with disabilities who plan to transfer.

The program was developed as a counseling intervention to increase the persistence and retention of at-risk students. Using peer mentors to help new students transition to the college environment, this one semester commitment has proven to be highly effective program with consistent retention and persistence rates between 80-100%, significantly higher than the college’s average.

Carefully screened and selected mentors are matched with mentees; both groups attend training and orientation sessions. They meet together as a pair for a minimum of one hour per week. Mentors also attend weekly Team Meetings.

The program offers ongoing training and leadership development sessions for mentors, workshops for all participants covering topics such as personality types, transfer issues, study techniques, stress management, and more. The paired students participate in a campus Scavenger Hunt for the purpose of fully orienting the mentee to campus resources. The program provides opportunities for socializing through events such as the pot-luck Kick-off Party, movie day, Fun in the Park, and the end of semester recognition ceremony called Hands of Hope.

Although the commitment is one semester, many students continue with the program for several semesters; also, there are mentees who continue to be involved, they utilize the skills they developed with the help of their mentors to improve their GPA in order to become future mentors.

The Center for Democracy and Humanity at Mount Wachusett Community College in North Central Massachusetts envisions a world where the values of democracy are embodied in the daily lives of individuals and communities.

In the fall of 2002, MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino announced the “Decade of Civic Engagement,” a college-wide effort to foster increased civic responsibility among its students, faculty, staff and greater community.

The Center for Democracy and Humanity was recently established to oversee the many programs and services offered by the college as part of the Decade of Civic Engagement. The Center coordinates programs and activities to ensure optimum efficiency and collaboration. In addition to the college’s many outreach programs, college faculty are committed to infusing service learning into their curricula and academic endeavors.

To promote civic engagement within the college and its broader community, the Center for Democracy and Humanity employs four strategies:

• Student engagement
• Resident engagement
• Capacity building and
• Systemic change.

In the Classroom

With civic engagement and service learning in the classroom, students gain practical experience that sets them apart in a competitive job market, communities benefit and classroom learning is reinforced. Students also become more knowledgeable, self-confident, active and engaged citizens with effective critical thinking skills. this effort is guided by a team of faculty advisors.

The Center’s Academic Programs

Citizenship Academy – The Citizenship Academy introduces high school students to higher education, civic engagement and community service. While earning college credit, students learn the basics of thinking and writing with clarity as well as how to become engaged in their communities. The academy offers Composition, Economics, Political Science and Sociology courses–all with a civic engagement/service learning component. The academy’s unique curriculum allows students to focus on issues pertinent to their lives and communities.

Service Learning – Service Learning programs involve students in organized community service that addresses local needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility and commitment to the community. by developing reciprocal partnerships, the program strives to serve the community and enrich the students’ educational and civic engagement experiences. Over 1,200 MWCC students have participated in Service Learning experiences, performing more than 7,000 hours of service to the community. In the coming year, faculty mini-grants will be awarded for new and innovative integration of service learning within the curricula.

AmeriCorps Scholars – Through the AmeriCorps, a number of students are chosen each year for the Scholarships for Service program that engages students as part-time AmeriCorps members. The program is designed to both acknowledge and advance campus civic engagement efforts, placing students at the core. Students are required to complete 300 hours of service with a local non-profit organization during the school year as an intensive means of meeting critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment.

In the Community

Center for Democracy and Humanity Community Development and Outreach Programs:

Community Builders and Project Volunteer – Community Builders is a partnership between the United Way of North Central Massachusetts and MWCC to educate, inform and inspire a greater community involvement through new and innovative strategies. Community Builders’ activities increase community action through volunteer promotion and recognition, and by providing tools, awareness and training to community organizations that depend on volunteers for their success.

Institute for Nonprofit Development – To build a more vibrant North Central Massachusetts, the Institute for Nonprofit Development supports organizations to strengthen their capacity to fulfill their missions and impact their communities. A membership-driven organization, the Institute provides training, technical assistance, resource libraries and coalition building services to nonprofits serving the region.

Molly Bish Institute for child Health and Safety – The mission of the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety is to ensure the health and safety of all children in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To meet this mission, the Institute provides hands-on, practical learning opportunities for parents, caregivers and children, and provides a clearinghouse of child health and safety information.

Twin Cities Latino Coalition – The Twin Cities Latino Coalition is a cross-sector collaborative effort involving local educational institutions, private business, public institutions and non-profits to achieve: increased Latino parental involvement, increased Latino K-16 student educational success and sustainable educatinoal systemic change through the implementation of a strategic plan. The Coalition actively works with Latino young people, parents and multicultural leaders to support parents and children’s independence, academic achievement and active civic engagement.

United Way Youth Venture – Youth Venture aims to change society’s views of youth by catalyzing a mass movement of young people who have the vision and drive to make a difference. Youth Venture emplowers young people ages 12-20 by providing them all the tools necessary to create “ventures” – civic-minded organizations, clubs or businesses to change schools and communities. Unique to North Central Massachusetts is Youth Venture’s partnership with ten schools, which work with educators, administrators and students to integrate Youth Venture into their curricula and achieve a graeter impact across the community.

What’s Next Speaker Series – Born out of a plan to bring several notable experts in the field of social change under a single theme, hundreds of residents have attended the What’s Next Speaker Series – public forums that introduce students, residents, community leaders and decision-makers in North Central Massachusetts to innovative thinkers and doers from around the country and world. The goal of the series is to show change is possible, spark creative problem-solving and inspire action.

Contact

Lea Ann Erickson
Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs
(978) 630-9322
l_erickson {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Amy Casavina Hall
Director of Civic Engagement and Outreach
(978) 630-9201
a_casavina {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Fagan Forhan
Coordinator, Center for Democracy and Humanity
(978) 630-9595
f_forhan {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Joanne Foster
Coordinator, Institute for Nonprofit Development
(978) 840-3221 x200
j_foster {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Andrea Hart
Program Assistant
978) 840-3221 x197
ahart {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Karin Olivera
Coordinator, Community Builders and Project Volunteer
(978) 840-3221 x201
k_olivera {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Sayra Pinto
Executive Director, Twin Cities Latino Coalition
(978) 840-3221
spinto {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Rebecca Cyganiewicz
United Way Youth Venture AmeriCorps*VISTA
(978) 840-3221 x203
youthventure {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

The Center for Democracy and Humanity’s offices are located at

110 Erdman Way
Leominster, MA 01453
Tel. (978) 840-3221 x197
Fax (978) 840-4398

The IUPUI Center for Service and Learning began an America Reads tutoring in 1997. Annually, more than 60 IUPUI college students serve over 350 preschool and elementary students with one-on-one tutoring at eight community sites. Youths receiving this tutoring assistance demonstrate an average increase of 1.4 reading levels each year. In January 2003, the Center for Service and Learning expanded its Federal Work-Study-based service programming with the America Counts program. In its pilot semester, this program connected eight IUPUI students with over 60 middle school students who were struggling with mathematics. The combined efforts of IUPUI’s America Reads and America Counts programs helped college students contribute more than 15,000 hours of service in the 2002-2003 academic year. In Fall 2003, the Community Work-Study Program will launch Hispanic tutoring and family literacy initiatives.

While these programs allow IUPUI to contribute in a systematic way to the community, they also provide students with opportunities for growth. All Community Work-Study Programs provide a comprehensive orientation and ongoing training opportunities throughout the year. These trainings incorporate reflection, professional growth, and training in the program’s focus area. Through the opportunity to become engaged in the community and the structured trainings and reflections, IUPUI students become better prepared for their careers and more interested in serving their communities. Over 85% of IUPUI students involved in the America Reads program say that their interest in serving their community increased through their work. IUPUI Reading Coaches also report that their involvement helps them develop academically (60%), professionally (87%), and personally (93%).

In the fall 2003, IUPUI added the Family Literacy Program and the Hispanic Reading Initiative to this program. The Family Literacy Program works with families currently served by the Indy Reads adult literacy program through enrichment activities and tutoring. The Hispanic Reading Initiative places IUPUI students with Hispanic children in preschool through 6th grade in schools or after school programs. Tutors help children retain their Spanish skills and gain new skills and knowledge of the English language.

Contact: Meg Easter-Dawson, measter {at} iupui(.)edu
Website: http://csl.iupui.edu/neighborhoodpartnerships/americareads.html

1. National Honor Society sponsors peer tutoring.
2. The Drama Class sponsors theatrical productions and a summer theater workshop. Students perform for community groups and other schools in the district. The summer theater workshop is planned for elementary age children in the community.

Yan Matan is 74 years old. She is preparing to become naturalized as an American citizen. Her volunteer coach is one of 100 students at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco who work this semester with elders in citizenship and ESL literacy classes through SHINE, Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders. Project SHINE is a national community- service learning effort with sister sites in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. Co-directors Gail Weinstein of SFSU and Nina Gibson of CCSF, work with faculty from a wide range of disciplines to develop “”project options”" for academic classes. Students who choose to participate in SHINE are trained as “”citizenship coaches”", and are placed in citizenship classes to tutor one-on-one or in small rows. The hope is that all participants gain citizenship knowledge and skills, develop confidence in themselves as learners, and nurture intergenerational relationships that last long after the project ends.

In Spring 1999, approximately 100 students from two campuses participated from English, Asian-American Studies, La Raza, Anthropology, Women’s Studies, ESL and Political Science. Project evaluations to date have indicated that as students assist elders in preparing to become citizens, their own academic learning is deepened, and they themselves have an opportunity to participate in our communities in the best sense of true citizenship.

As one coach says: “”I feel very fortunate to have landed in such an exciting class, where so many students experience success in their learning and citizenship attainment. The elders are so appreciative, and tell us how much we make a difference. I feel lucky to be working with a teacher who is an outstanding educator. Thanks so much for helping to set up such a great learning experience for me.”"

There is enormous satisfaction in building a program where academic course work comes to life; language is learned, and our community is strengthened through intergenerational relationships that we hope will last.

Contact people: Gail Weinstein, SFSU, gailw {at} sfsu(.)edu; Nina Gibson, CCSF, ngibson {at} ccsf(.)edu
SHINE web site: http://thecity.sfsu.edu/~shine/

The Tutoring Program utilizes the volunteer services of the University s student body to act as Reading and Math tutors for K-6 grade pupils in the Alvord Unified School District. While realizing the nation s need for quality teachers, the Tutoring Program provides an opportunity for University students to explore teaching as a career goal. As a result of the tutoring experience, several tutors express a new or increased desire to enter the teaching profession. They also state benefits of acquiring effective teaching skills, gaining leadership confidence and making a difference in the lives of others. While disadvantaged students receive this additional learning opportunity, they also gain self-esteem, enthusiasm for learning, hope for a better future and a positive perception of La Sierra University.

The Mentoring Program is providing an equally beneficial experience for its participants. This program places high school students in a one-to-one mentoring relationship working with a University professor. This employment opportunity allows them to explore their interests in a chosen career field. The mentoring experience teaches them how to operate in a professional work environment. In addition to learning new skills, these students testify about other benefits increased self-esteem, motivation toward higher education and a positive perception of the La Sierra University s educational experience. The University professors make these benefits a reality through their dedicated volunteer service. While the professors appreciate the assistance they receive from these students, they welcome the chance to make a difference in the lives of our youth.

The Tutoring and Mentoring programs twofold ability to benefit every participant makes the Arlanza/La Sierra Community Collaborative a perfect example of “”best practices.”"

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Website: www2.coloradocollege.edu/Students/Pathfinder/Opportunities/OtherOrganizations.html

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Kalin Gregg and Jennifer Stark at the Center for Service Learning 970.247.7641 or grigg_k {at} fortlewis(.)edu

A fine example of the opportunities that exist is the Boys & Girls Club at Trinity College. The Club is the first Boys & Girls Club in the country to be located on a college campus, and Trinity students fill all of its volunteer positions. Trinity students also are involved in the Club through internships, service-learning, and research. They serve the needs of more than 300 inner-city, low-income children who have enrolled in the Club since its opening in February. In true community spirit, the Club s construction was financed with gifts from Hartford-area corporations, foundations and individuals, including Trinity College trustees. The Club also was the first new building to be constructed as part of a neighborhood renewal effort spearheaded by Trinity College that calls for three new schools, a family resource center, new home ownership opportunities, job training, support for existing retail establishments, and new business assistance.

Retired General Colin Powell, now chairman of America s Promise: The Alliance for Youth, participated in the dedication of the Club and designated Trinity as the nation s first “”College of Promise.”" He said that Trinity s “”commitment to improving the quality of life in Hartford and to helping the city s young people dream and believe they, too, might someday attend college and live the American dream is exemplary. What are the other hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the country doing on behalf of at-risk youth? Why can t they all be Colleges and Universities of Promise?”"

The Club s activities are focused on education and the development of social skills, using Trinity students as teachers, role models and mentors. The activities include daily homework sessions; recreation that fosters team-spirit; positive competition and social skills; arts and crafts; a computer club that uses academic-oriented software; a newsletter; a percussion workshop; and a Saturday basketball league. The newest addition is a wilderness club that involves students and staff in educational trips and outings to foster positive relationships, an awareness of nature and the environment, self-awareness, character-building and self-esteem.

This program offers Trinity students an opportunity to use their skills and their athletic, intellectual, artistic and teaching/tutoring talents for the benefit of a community in need. Students engaged at the Boys & Girls Club become increasingly civic-minded; they become more aware of the real issues and problems of inner-cities. Although it happens outside the classroom, this represents true and invaluable learning, and it stimulates intellectual inquiry, civic action and leadership. This process helps mold Trinity students into responsible, involved, caring, and effective leaders of the future. It builds citizens who are more concerned about solving social problems than just studying and talking about them.

Contact person: Angel Huertas, Unit Director, Boys & Girls Club at Trinity College, yankee {at} hotmail(.)com
Web site: http://www.learningcorridor.org/bgc.htm

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

For many years FSU has worked well with the school district to achieve their mutual agenda. The new agreement sets forth a “”professional development schools network”" with the intent of reforming schools, developing exemplary models for teacher and administrator preservice and inservice education, and achieving the highest quality educational results. Through the implementation of this partnership special attention and resources will be focused on the southside schools, most of which are in neighborhoods nearby the campus and most of which are lower achieving than other schools in the district.

The collaboration is managed by a highly experienced former principal reporting to the provost and is overseen by a steering committee comprised of the university presidents, superintendent, education and arts and science deans. Advice is provided by two committees broadly representing interests and disciplines: the professional development school committee and the outreach advisory committee. A needs assessment undertaken among the southside school administrators provided important guidance for the new initiative.

Early projects include establishing professional development school relationships among the College of Arts and Science, the Colleges of Education, and several “”high needs”" elementary and middle schools which focus on reading and literacy. Technology training is being provided by the university this summer to support these efforts. Several joint proposals have been written to provide resources to support the work of the partnership.

One visible example of the partnership is the mentoring program through which faculty and staff have committed to working with youngsters in southside schools. Both the FSU president and the LCS superintendent have chosen to mentor to demonstrate their support for the program.

For further information contact Dr. Laura Hassler, K-12 Initiatives Director or go to http://www.fsu.edu/~k12.

The partnership involves the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the University of Miami, Barry University, Florida Memorial University, Florida International University and Miami-Dade Community College. This partnership of K-12 public schools along with private and public higher education institutions is unique in the country. Under the leadership of M-DCC these institutions jointly provide nearly 175 federal work study students to serve as one-on-one tutors at 34 elementary schools and six after-school programs. Together, the tutors provide individual assistance to nearly 2,000 first-grade students every week, and this requires significant energy and resources to assure that FWS students receive appropriate training and support. Also, the coordination of the placement of these student-tutors is a positive example of dedication to collaborative use of institutional resources to maximize the benefits for the community.

The partnership also includes a comprehensive training program for the tutors that addresses the development of essential tutoring skills as well as specific sessions to emphasize civic responsibility and the importance of individual commitment to community good. These training and support activities occur on an continuous basis throughout the semester.

An additional feature of the partnership is a separate series of training events for teachers, teachers aides and others who desire to help children learn to read better. This is a jointly developed training program called “”Buddy Reading”" and it provides basic skills for individual volunteers. It also serves as a means to involve volunteers from the community at-large as well as from within each of the partner-institutions.

Finally, this partnership provides a way for us to introduce our students to the importance of corporate citizenship responsibilities. In other words, we model for them how the different sectors of a community must work together for the strength of the community; that through the combined efforts of our different colleges, we can do far more than any one individual school in assisting our community. We believe that it is essential our students understand that higher education has a common commitment to enhance the learning of children in the K-12 system.

Joshua Young, College-Wide Director, Center for Community Involvement, jyoung {at} mdcc(.)edu

CCI web site: www.mdcc.edu/cci/

Website: http://www.mdcc.edu/cci/images/Project%20Citizen.pdf

Website: http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/

Contact: Teresa Taylor at (478) 445-5772 or ttaylor {at} gcsu(.)edu

Not all community service, however, is good community service. Unfortunately, service can easily be done badly optimistic ideas thrown together can cause more harm than good. Fortunately, service can also be done well bringing mutual benefit to those serving and those served. The Harris Homes First Grade Initiative provides an example of co-curricular service at its best.

The initiative started in 1996, when parents at Harris Homes in Atlanta suggested that their children be exposed to college life through mentoring. The idea was a tried and true one: mentors are matched one-on-one with children whom they serve as a teacher and friend once a week. In the process, the children gain new visions of what the future might look like. One hundred twenty-five first graders from Harris Homes were paired with 125 freshman college students from Spelman College and Morehouse College, and a co-curricular service project had begun.

This alone would be a strong, on-going, co-curricular service. But there s more. The college students realized over time that their one-on-one relationship with these children could not so easily be relegated to a once-a-week relationship. For one thing, college students are part of a college, and it was difficult to separate their service work from that. So, mentees would come over to campus for visits with their mentors. And have lunches with their mentors. And sleepovers.

Just as college students are part of their college, the mentees they worked with were part of families. As it had been at the beginning of the program, parents input remained a driving force of the program. Mentors invited entire families onto campus, offered to share university resources, and acted as resources for neighborhood parents to address issues and concerns in the neighborhood.

It is now three years later. The mentees, now third graders, have become a familiar part of campus. Their small bodies have made frequent appearances in the cafeteria. Regularly, their shouts are heard across the campus green.

Their families too are part of campus. Support for Harris Homes parents is formalized in a peer group that meets on campus monthly to discuss common concerns. Classrooms are used for town meetings, and libraries for research.

Last year, outside funding made possible the founding of the Dean Rusk Enrichment Academy, an after-school program specializing in science and technology instruction for Harris Homes mentees that is run collaboratively by Spelman and Morehouse mentors and Harris Homes parents.

The Harris Homes Initiative has succeeded by being ongoing and long-term; building upon human relationships; involving thorough engagement with community members; and evolving over time to meet changing ideas, abilities, needs, and visions. From the start of the Harris Homes co-curricular service project in 1996, the Spelman and Morehouse students wanted their mentees to get the message that: This is college and you can come here. Over the course of three years, that message has been joined by a chorus of others: this is your neighborhood, this is your family, this is your community.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

During the academic year, Morris Brown students provided tutorial, mentoring and counseling services for the Harland Teen Center. Male students from Morris Brown provided tutoring and counseling for the male participants in Harland s after school program and also engaged the young men in conversations about academic success, career objectives and the importance of matriculating to college as a means of becoming self-sustaining adults. Women students from Morris Brown were involved in the Teen Center s Smart Girls project. The ultimate objective of this project is for girls to develop healthy attitudes and lifestyles. To accomplish this, the program addresses health and social issues that are specific to young women. Smart Girls is designed to prepare girls, ages 10-15, to make positive decisions at this critical stage in their physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Both of these components of the Life Line project focus on the importance of developing strong mentoring relationships with young people at an early age to make a difference for them in their life decisions while they are pre-teen.

Although the Smart Girls project and the male mentoring component are important pieces of the Life Line initiative, other aspects have contributed to the overall success of the project. Specifically, the project has contributed to interdepartmental collegiality at Morris Brown and has instilled in Morris Brown students the value of teamwork. Our students have been provided an opportunity to hone and develop skills that are necessary for working with young people who have demonstrated a need for personal and intellectual nurturing. Finally, the project has made an extremely important contribution to Morris Brown College s effort to forge stronger community ties. The facilitators have gotten to know some of the community leaders associated with the teen center and they have developed a stronger mentor relationship with Morris Brown students.

Contact: Teresa Taylor at (478) 445-5772 or ttaylor {at} gcsu(.)edu

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: Dr. Roberson at mrobertson {at} mail.millikin(.)edu