CommunityBased ServiceLearning

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Community-Based Service-Learning

• "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
  committed people can change the world. Indeed, it
  is the only thing that ever has."
• - Margaret Mead

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• What is Service-Learning?
• Service-Learning is a teaching and learning
  strategy that integrates meaningful
• community service with instruction and reflection
  to enrich the learning
• experience, teach civic responsibility, and
  strengthen communities.
• Community-Based Service-Learning Why is it
  important?
• The next frontier for service-learning growth is
  in community-based organizations.
• This professional development opportunity will
  offer a variety of strategies and
• material to integrate youth development insights
  into community-based
• service-learning.

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• What if we asked our young people what their
  interests, hobbies, talents,
• and dreams are, rather than tell them what to do?
• What if we challenged youth to develop their
  assets, goals, and strengths
• to make a real, permanent change in their
  communities and world?
• What if we used service-learning as a tool for
  youth to approach their
• families, schools, and communities to help
  support young people to make a
• difference?

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What the youth have to say

• Service helped change me. Its something to
  do. Some people are out there doing drugs, but I
  have something to do now.
• Service-learning helped me understand a lot of
  stuff that I didnt know before. I also have
  great people to help me.
• My schools service club encouraged me to have
  more patience and believe in myself.
• Knowledge helps you go to college and get
  better grades.
• Now I know the consequences of what I did
  because of going to the service club, and how it
  could have hurt me.

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Young People An Opportunity, Not A Challenge

• Too often we here the bad news about young
  people in our communities. We want to help
• adults to see youth as change agents with rich
  resources ready to be tapped.
• How do you see young people?
• Change agents, the future, objects, recipients,
  or problems? Examine your attitude and then
  determine how you can best influence your
  organizations approach to working with young
  people.
• How does your organizations attitude and
  behavior as adults affect their relationships
  with young people in your community? What can
  you do to build a healthier relationship with
  youth and ultimately your community?
• Some things you might do include engaging
  young people in program decisions, encourage
  leadership and responsibility, and communicate
  to the young people that the adults respect them.
• Young people are powerful assets and resources
  to our communities, how can we
• make sure to engage, embrace, and encourage the
  strengths of our nations youth, while
• addressing critical community issues?
• They (Youth) need more safe chances to explore
  the things that might capture their energized
  attention and enrich their lives and the lives of
  their families, schools, and communities. Its up
  to adults to work alongside young people to help
  them find and follow their passions, enriching
  themselves, their families, and their communities
  as a result. (Teen Voice 2009, The Untapped
  Strength of 15 Year-Olds)

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• YOUNG PEOPLE VIEWED AS OBJECTS
• The basis of this attitude is that one person or
  group of people knows whats best for another
  person or group of people. Or the first person
  of group may decide they have a right to
  determine the circumstances under which the
  second person or group will exist. The person
  being viewed and treated as an object usually
  knows it.
• YOUNG PEOPLE VIEWED AS RECIPIENTS
• Here the first person of group still believes
  they know what is best for the other, but they
  give the other the opportunity to participate
  in decision making because it will be good for
  the other person or group. Thus, the other is
  supposed to receive the benefits of what the
  first person gives them.
• YOUNG PEOPLE VIEWED AS RESOURCES
• Here there is an attitude of respect by the
  first person or group toward what the other
  person or group can do. This attitude and the
  behaviors which follow it can be closely
  associated with two matters of great concern
  self-esteem and productivity.

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Most importantly

• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!
• LISTEN!

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• Youth Service California
• Making service a meaningful part of every young
  persons life
• Who are we?
• Youth Service California is a statewide
  non-profit organization dedicated to helping
• California youth transform themselves and their
  communities through service.
• Young people participating in service to others
  develop positive moral values and
• useful skills that lead to active citizenship and
  productive lives.
• Youth service is key to civic, educational,
  cultural, and spiritual transformation.
• We commit our energy, our vision and our
  resources to support the development and
• transformation of the young people of California.

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• The Innovation Spotlight Series exchange is an
  initiative of the National Service
• Learning Partnership at the Academy of
  Educational Development, with strategic
• support and leadership by the Service-Learning.
  This year-long series is
• designed to help you get
• New perspectives on service-learning
• The opportunity to deepen your expertise as you
  explore topics such as the environment
• Advice from renowned experts
• Lesson and activity plans
• The Innovation Spotlight Series offers four
  modules
• Service-Learning and Dropout Prevention
  (National Dropout Center/Network)
• Service-Learning and the Environment (FrontRange
  Earth Force)
• Community-Based Service-Learning
• Service-Learning and STEM

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• Youth Service Californias focus, Community-Based
  Service-Learning,
• provides resources and tools on-line as well as
  materials to support the
• growth of community-based service-learning in
  America.
• "If we are to reach real peace in this world...
  we shall have to begin with children."
• - Mahatma Gandhi

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We want a generation of people who assume that
putting themselves at the service of others is
simply part of what it means to be a human
being.--Mark Batenburg

• What is Youth Development?
• The process of growth that youth go through in
  an attempt to feel cared for, valued, useful,
  safe, and spiritually grounded while building
  skills that allow them to function in their daily
  lives the combination of all the people, places,
  support systems and opportunities that youth need
  to be happy, healthy, and successful.

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Service-learning is the most effective strategy
for promoting youth development in out of school
programsInstitute of Medicine at the National
Academy of Science

• How do you implement service-learning in
  community-based organizations focused on youth
  development?
• 1. Begin at a starting place and ask yourself
  What are your goals for the young people in your
  program? (I.e. knowledge, skills, values,
  integrity, leadership, honesty, planning,
  decision making, self-esteem, confidence,
  empowerment.)
• 2. Ask the youth, what changes do they want to
  make in their community? (I.e. Map community
  assets in the neighborhood, choose a local issue,
  and tackle it.)
• 3. Ask yourself, how might you accomplish CBO
  goals by having young people do service?
• There are risks and costs to a program of action.
  But they are far less than the long- range risks
  and costs of comfortable inaction.
• - John F. Kennedy

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Service-learning is a real life, engaging, and
hands on way to meet developmental goals for
young people.Don Hill, Service-learning Expert

• Why are service and service-learning integral in
  youth development?
• Service is a way of supporting, strengthening,
  and encouraging developmental
• outcomes for young people by intentionally
  integrating positive youth development
• principles and practices with service-learning
  by identifying key developmental
• assets in youth.
• What are developmental assets?
• Created by The Search Institute, developmental
  assets are relationships, opportunities, skills,
  values, and commitments to children and
  adolescents need to grow up healthy, caring and
  responsible. The research is organized into two
  types of assets internal and external.
  Internal assets are focused on the capacities,
  skills, and values that young people need to
  internalize as part of developing their
  character, identity, and life skills. External
  assets refer to the support and opportunities
  that are provided by family, friends,
  organizations, and communities.
• The more assets young people experiences, the
  less likely they are to engage in a variety of
  high risk behaviors and the more likely that are
  to engage in thriving behaviors. For example,
  youth with high asset levels (31-40) are 15 times
  less likely to use alcohol than those with 0-10
  assets. These kinds of relationships hold true
  across all groups of youth studied, including
  those from many racial-ethnic backgrounds,
  communities of all sizes, and different
  socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Source Search Institute

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The 40 Developmental Assests for Grades
6-12Assests Change Lives--How Many Do Your Kids
Have?Search Institute

• The INTERNAL Assets
• 1. Achievement motivation
• 2. School engagement
• 3. Homework
• 4. Bonding to school
• 5. Reading for pleasure
• 6. Caring
• 7. Equality and social justice
• 8. Integrity
• 9. Honesty
• 10. Responsibility
• 11. Restraint
• 12. Planning and decision making
• 13. Interpersonal competence
• 14. Cultural competence
• 15. Resistance skills
• 16. Peaceful conflict resolution
• 17. Personal power

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The 40 Developmental Assests for Grades
6-12Assests Change Lives--How Many Do Your Kids
Have?Search Institute

• The EXTERNAL Assets
• 1. Family support
• 2. Positive family communication
• 3. Other adult relationships
• 4. Caring neighborhood
• 5. Caring school climate
• 6. Parent involvement in schooling
• 7. Community values youth
• 8. Youth as resources
• 9. Service to others
• 10. Safety
• 11. Family boundaries
• 12. School boundaries
• 13. Neighborhood boundaries
• 14. Adult role models
• 15. Positive peer influence
• 16. High expectations
• 17. Creative activities

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How Service-Learning Can Strengthen Developmental
AssetsSource Eugene C. Roehlkepartain and
Peter C. Scales, Ph.D., Search Institute,
December 2007
Effective Service-Learning Opportunities Frequen
cy Intensity Youth Voice Reflection Curriculum
ties Meet real needs
Developmental Assets External Assets Support Emp
owerment Boundaries Expectations Constructive use
of time Internal Assets Commitment to
learning Positive values Social
competencies Positive identity
Increased Thriving School success Civic
engagement Leadership Valuing diversity Maintainin
g good health
Reduced Risks Violence and delinquency School
problems Drug use Alcohol use
Other Youth Developmental or Asset-Building Oppor
tunities
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Developmental Asset Strengths in Service-Learning

• Achievement motivation
• School engagement
• Caring
• Equality and social justice
• Integrity
• Honesty
• Responsibility
• Planning and decision making
• Interpersonal/Cultural competence
• Peaceful conflict resolutions
• Self-esteem
• Sense of purpose
• Positive view of personal history
• Caring neighborhood
• Community values youth
• Youth as resources
• Service to others
• Adult role models
• Positive peer influence

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• Linking Service-Learning with Asset Building and
  Youth Development
• 1. Reflect on your own experiences. Where have
  some of the assets been important in your own
  life? How have they made a difference? What
  kinds of experiences have you had that, in
  retrospect, built assets for you?
• 2. Focus on the relationships in your network or
  program. Ensure that youth and adults who
  participate have intentional time to form lasting
  relationships.
• 3. Use the asset framework to assess what youre
  already doing. Use the asset framework to
  develop future activities.
• 4. Connect with others who are doing asset
  building (or could be resources for asset
  building).
• 5. Think of Developmental Assets as intermediate
  outcomes of service-learning efforts.
• Source Search Institute

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The Search Institute The Five Action Strategies
for Transforming Communities and Society,
Creating a World Where All Young People are
Valued and Thrive.

• Engage Adults -- Engage adults from all walks of
  life to develop sustained, strength-building
  relationships with children and adolescents, both
  within families and in neighborhoods.
• Mobilize -- Mobilize young people to use their
  power as asset builders and change agents.
• Activate -- Activate all sectors of the community
  -- such as schools, congregations, youth,
  businesses, human services, and health-care
• Organize -- to create an asset-building culture
  and to contribute fully to young peoples healthy
  development.
• Invigorate Programs -- Invigorate, expand, and
  enhance programs to become more asset rich and to
  be available to and accessed by all children and
  youth.
• Influence Civic Decisions -- Influence decision
  makers and opinion leaders to leverage financial,
  media, and policy resources in support of this
  positive transformation of communities and
  society.

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The benefits of of service-learning in
community-based settings include helping young
people grow and building healthier communities.

• What are Community-Based Organizations?
• Community-based organizations include
• Social service and other non-profit providers and
  associations that may engage young people (and
  adults) as volunteers
• Community-based youth development organizations
  and after-school programs that include service or
  service-learning as part of their programming
• And faith-based organizations that provide
  services and offer service experiences as part of
  their programming.
• Today, our very survival depends on our ability
  to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain
  vigilant and to face the challenge of change."
• -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Source Search Institute

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• Benefits for Youth Participants
• Youth who participate in high-quality
  community-based service-learning are likely to
• benefit in a number of ways
• Increased access to the range of supports and
  opportunities they need to grow up healthy,
  caring, and responsible.
• Increased sense of self-efficacy, as young people
  learn that they can impact real social
  challenges, problems and needs.
• Higher academic achievement and interest in
  furthering their education.
• Enhanced problem-solving skills, ability to work
  in teams, and planning abilities.
• Enhanced civic engagement attitudes, skills and
  behaviors.

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"This world demands the qualities of youth not a
time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the
will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of
courage over timidity, of the appetite for
adventure over the love of ease." - Robert
Kennedy.

• Benefits for Youth Development Organizations
• Youth development organizations and after-school
  programs that use service-learning
• can benefit from this strategy in a number of
  ways
• Young people are more likely to stay engaged when
  they feel their participation is meaningful and
  they can make useful contributions.
• Service-learning gives an intentional strategy
  for addressing goals for learning and personal
  development through civic engagement and
  community service.
• Service-learning can cultivate connections
  between the organizations, schools,
  high-education, and other community groups.
• Service-learning can increase program staff and
  volunteers level of engagement, leadership
  capacity, and satisfaction with their work.
• Service-learning reinforces effective youth
  development practices, providing young people
  with, among other things, appropriate structure,
  supportive relationships, opportunities to
  belong, positive social norms, opportunities for
  skill building and integration of family,
  school, and community efforts.
• Source Search Institute

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• Benefits to Organizations that Utilize Young
  People
• Community-based organizations that engage young
  people in service and
• service-learning point to the following kinds of
  benefits
• The opportunity to expand their mission and reach
  without substantially increasing costs by
  engaging a cadre of competent, motivated young
  people.
• New energy, ideas, and enthusiasm as well as
  specialized skills that young people can bring to
  the organization.
• Increased public support and visibility in the
  community as young people become ambassadors for
  the agency in their schools, homes, and other
  networks.
• New partnerships and resources.
• A new generation of volunteers for their own
  organization or cause.

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• Benefits for Service Recipients, Communities and
  Society
• Beyond the young people the organizations
  directly involved, community-based
• service-learning benefits the people served,
  their communities, and ultimately,
• society
• It meets real needs and priorities for
  individuals and communities, as young people
  bring new energy, capacity, and creative ideas.
• Community residents have opportunities to build
  positive relationships with young people.
• Communities see youth in a different way -- as
  resources, not problems.
• A new generation of caring and experienced
  citizens, activists, and volunteers is
  cultivated.
• Source Search Institute

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• Benefits Dont Come Automatically
• The specific benefits or impact will vary,
  depending on the focus, scope, duration and
  quality of a
• particular service or service-learning
  experience. Integrating core elements of
  effective
• service-learning is key to reaping these and
  other benefits. Among these core elements
• are
• 1. Young people have active and meaningful
  leadership roles
• 2. The program is guided by clear and intentional
  learning and development goals
• 3. Active, intentional, and structured reflection
  is integral to the program
• 4. Young people are involved across time (at
  least 20 hours across several months)
• 5. The service projects meet real community needs
  and opportunities.
• "The young, free to act on their initiative, can
  lead their elders in the direction of the
  unknown...The children, the young, must ask the
  questions that we would never think to ask, but
  enough trust must be re-established so that the
  elders will be permitted to work with them on the
  answers."

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What do we do next?

• Here is a list of helpful reminders for you to
  remember when engaging youth in your community in
  service-learning opportunities
• 1. Ask youth what is important to them.
• 2. Give them time, allow them to work through
  their ideas and remain patient.
• 3. Believe in them.
• 4. Support them and help youth figure out what
  steps to take next.
• 5. Connect youth with adults who are willing to
  build a meaningful relationship.
• 6. Let the youth own their project, youth voice
  is key to success.
• 7. Give youth more experience doing whatever
  they love to do.
• 8. Engage and cultivate their passions.
• 9. Follow-through on your commitment.
• 10. Help change the world.

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Resources and Tools

• http//www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/links_
  collection/index.php?link_set_id1category_id302
  
• http//www.search-institute.org/research/
• http//www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/p
  erformance_research.asp
• http//www.pointsoflight.org/
• http//www.civicyouth.org/
• http//www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_s
  heets/cb_facts/developmental_assets/
• http//www.calstate.edu/cce/
• http//www.umich.edu/mjcsl/
• http//www.crf-usa.org/
• http//www.nylc.org/