Service Learning Opportunities Expland
Last semester Fitzgibbon’s students began identifying and connecting with local organizations. They constructed and populated the initial database with help from IWSS. This semester one team from his class will complete the website and begin an awareness campaign so faculty, students and community leaders understand how to utilize the system.
Two other 380 teams will partner with students enrolled in Mary Campbell’s Social Work 345 class, Interventions with Communities. Together they will assist managers at the Unity Center apartment complex design and implement various programs for residents, many of whom have limited English language skills.
Service learning options for other teams from Fitzgibbon’s class include developing systems
to streamline operations at the Midwest Food Bank. Dave Kaiser, a successful family farmer, now devotes a significant portion of his time to this project. In 2006 the organization distributed 12.1 million pounds of food, more than double their previous year’s efforts. With just 1 paid employee and a team of volunteers, Kaiser was very responsive to the idea of a service-learning project, especially one providing volunteers with business, accounting and organizational expertise. “The people at the food bank collaborate with nearly 350 social service agencies in McLean country and beyond. Organizing and distributing food pallets is an incredible challenge and one our students can definitely help with,” said Fitzgibbons.
Associate Provost Jan Shane has called Project Redbird Outreach the cornerstone of the service-learning component of the American Democracy Project. At this time there are 25 agencies with projects or needs listed. The next phase is to alert faculty members to those service opportunities. At the CTLT Teaching & Learning Symposium held on January 10th, a brief overview of the project was presented. Project Redbird Outreach will be further explored in February at the Academic Affairs Leadership Conference.
A central belief behind Project Redbird Outreach is that service learning projects should be tightly integrated with the course curriculum, not an “add-on” activity such as conducting a food drive or having a car wash to benefit a nonprofit or social service agency. “While these latter projects are wonderful volunteer efforts they cannot accurately be called service learning unless there is a strong connection to the theories, content and issues of the course. Service learning offers a blend of theory and practice applied in real-world settings,” explained Fitzgibbons. This new database system simply makes it easier for ISU faculty to find relevant opportunities.
Project Redbird Outreach could eventually involve every college and discipline across campus. Developing a system for matching participants will fall to Danielle Lindsey of the Provost’s office. For additional information on Project Redbird Outreach contact Dale Fitzgibbons at defitz@ilstu.edu.
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