Club Community Service

1. Club Community Service Planning Engaging and Meaningful Service Projects Office of Student Life Montgomery College Rockville Campus

2. Index • Defining Community Service • Benefits of Service for Clubs, Individuals, and Communities • 5 Steps for Planning a Project • Other Office Policies and Procedures • Campus Service Opportunities & Resources

3. Defining Community Service • Unpaid activities that make a real difference in a community • Can be mandated (think court-ordered or in a classroom) • Club Activity: • Research unique or interesting examples of community service • Have members share these at a club meeting

4. Benefits of Service“Make a career of humanity and you will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • For Clubs & Individuals • Get experience planning events and collaborating with the community • Work together as a club • Have fun recruiting new members and promoting your club’s mission • Boost your mood, make new friends, and learn new skills • Impress future employers • expertise, passion, and commitment to making a difference • Score with college admissions by • Achieving your goals, applying learning, and positively impacting those around you

5. MC*LEAD received Montgomery County’s Golden Shovel award for their service project after Snowmageddon 2010. The Bollywood Club’s Holi 4 Haiti fundraiser brought in $200—and celebrated the festival of color at Montgomery College.

6. Benefits of Service • For Community Organizations • Non-profits desperately need volunteers to meet their clients’ needs • Student groups bring energy, new ideas, and support to people who work on sometimes difficult and draining social issues. • Students with specialized skills can greatly improve the effectiveness of non-profit and community organizations. • web developers, landscapers, interior designers, builders, etc… • For Clients/Community Members • The clients served by a community organization—the disabled, low-income youth, endangered species—are being impacted by various social issues and injustices. Your club’s service can make a real difference in their lives and futures.

7. 5 Steps for Planning a Project • Select the Service Site/Social Issue • Prepare for the Project • Serve the Community • Reflect and Report • Celebrate, Educate, and Promote

8. Selecting the Service Site/Social Issue • Your Club’s Goals for Service • Does your group have an obvious connection to a certain social issue? • Would a specific kind of service enhance your club’s skills and abilities? • Would your group benefit from a fun or empowering service? • Are there specific kinds of professionals you’d like to meet/work with? • Are there any community events coming up that your club would like to be a part of? • Club Activity: • Brainstorm a list of club members’ skills, experiences, and interests. • Research community organizations seeking volunteers that match this list • Google “Montgomery County Volunteer Center” • Check out onebrick.org or burgundycrescent.org • Look at online community calendars on The Gazette, City Paper, etc…

9. Volunteer at a local festival, fair, or day of service in Montgomery County.

10. Prepare for the Project • Discuss your plans with a Faculty Advisor • Invite other clubs to collaborate at an ICC meeting • Meet with a Student Life Specialist or Service Program staff member • Discuss your club’s goals and interests • Prepare any request forms for funding, space, materials, etc… • Pick up required forms • Club Community Service Form* • Service Learning Activities Waiver* (sign & return waivers immediately) *All forms are available in the OSL and online

11. Prepare for the Project • If working with a Community Organization • Contact the volunteer coordinator • Discuss your club’s availability and service goals • Inquire about the organization needs • Ask about dress code, parking, and training needed • If planning your own project or service event • Follow the instructions for Event Planning • Meet with a Service Program staff member

12. Prepare for the Project • Club Activity • Research social issue(s) creating the community need you are addressing • Share news articles and other materials about the issue at a club meeting • Discuss how your service project will impact this social issue

13. Serve the Community • Put your plans and preparation into action. • Arrive on time at the service site. • Have the club contact inform the community contact of your arrival • Follow instructions, ask questions, and serve! • Remember: • This is a team effort • Communicate responsibilities clearly to all club members • Push your comfort level, have fun, and remember the difference you are making

14. Serve the Community • Be a motivator • Stay positive • Remind everyone of the big picture • Focus on the needs of the community that you are serving • Trust the community organization that is asking you to the service • Watch for club members who need to be reassigned to a different or new task • If you finish a task, inform the supervisor and ask to do more • Have fun • Play games • Bring a radio • Have snacks to share • Take a break whenever is needed

15. Reflect and Report • Reflect • Discuss the service project immediately afterwards • Go out to eat/get coffee or desert • Plan a ½ hour to talk when the service ends • Make sure everyone participates in some way • Discuss observations, difficulties, questions at a club meeting • Ask members to think about what they learned, what they’d do differently, what they enjoyed • Discuss your initial goals and how well you met them • Report • Record observations, questions, and lessons learned to share with other clubs, members who couldn’t attend & OSL staff • Complete the Club Community Service Form (return immediately to the OSL)

16. Celebrate, Educate, & Promote • Celebrate • Host a party or presentation at a club meeting to celebrate the difference you made • Educate • Host a panel, movie & discussion, or other event to share what you learned about the social issue and your service with the Montgomery College community • Share your experiences at an ICC meeting • Promote • Use photographs from the service project to promote future club meetings/service/events • Invite students to help plan your next project

17. Campus Opportunities & Resources • On-campus Programs • Red Cross Blood Drives • Help advertise, recruit & register donors, and give blood at a drive • FYE Days of Service • Help coordinate a day of service for first-year students • Manna Food Smart Sacks • Every Thursday @ 2, help pack food for local elementary school children • Other On-campus Opportunities • Food Drives for the Women’s Studies Food Pantry • Educational and Recreational Activities at the Early Learning Center • International Day of Peace in the Fall • Rockville Science Fair in the Spring

18. Campus Opportunities & Resources • Service Programs Bulletin Board • Outside the Office of Student Life • New opportunities posted weekly • Informational resources about local organizations • Volunteer Updates E-newsletters • Biweekly emails about service opportunities on campus and in the community • Montgomery County Volunteer Center • Search the database for 1,000s of local needs

19. Campus Opportunities & Resources Meet with a student life specialists or service learning program staff 5 days a week: M-F 8:30am-5:00pm Lower Level Campus Center 005 240-567-5092. stlifer@montgomerycollege.edu www.montgomerycollege.edu/ Departments/stdactrv