Community Service, Service Learning and National Service
Service learning is a method of preparation, action, and reflecting
(what worked, what didn't work, how what you learned will help you
in the other parts of your life) that combines careful preparation with
meaningful service. As a method of personal development, it is
experiential education, which is learning through hands-on experience.
More specifically, it joins together valuable community service with
instruction and reflection to enrich the learning, encourage lifelong
citizenship and strengthen communities for everyone.
The RI Developmental Disabilities Council promotes service learning in many ways. In 2002, the Council established a program to develop a model service learning experience that would make opportunities for interaction between high school learners and young people with developmental disabilities, called Learning Through Assisting. The Council submitted the model to the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, US Department of Health and Human Services, where it was accepted as a Project of National Significance. The Council continues to support this website, and on-going training and technical assistance, as a resource to the community.
Transition Programs and High School Graduation Requirements. The RI Developmental Disabilities Council partners with community groups and educational organizations to teach and promote a service learning model for all students who are completing their high school requirements using a service project. In its hands-on approach, the model is suitable for students with a wide range of abilities and learning styles. By designing Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) to connect with service projects, activities can be planned to achieve literacy, civics, science and mathematics requirements. To meet these requirements, students can use combinations of learning products such as:
*Portfolios
*Extended "capstone" projects
*Public exhibitions, and
*The use of technological tools
To view the RI Department of Education information on meeting graduation requirements, click here.
Giving Back.
As responsible citizens, we all contribute to our communities in
many ways. Formal community service is one way to give back, a way to
express our appreciation for the world around us. But more than that,
service is a terrific way to meet new people, expand skills and explore
where we live! By using the service-learning model to prepare, complete
and reflect on service projects, we can achieve personal development in
our everyday generosity.
Congratulations to Emily, Heather, Malyssa, Michael, Jeremy! The RI Developmental Disabilities Council, funded by a mini-grant from the John E. Fogarty Foundation, held a 'Tell us your story of service learning' contest. We had five young people tell us about their service: what they did, why their service is important, and how it makes them feel to contribute to a better community. Even though they did their service not expecting to be paid, they received a $50.00 prize for submitting their stories...Click here to read their stories.
Every single day is a good day to volunteer your valuable time and share your smile with others. There are volunteer opportunities in your community listed on The Volunteer Center at Serve Rhode Island website. To find them, click here.
The National Service Inclusion Project works to ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to serve. Participants share their stories here.
Another
exciting way to ‘give back' is to commit to a
year of full or part-time service in AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps
programs in Rhode Island run all over the state, and address
many community needs such as after-school tutoring, environmental
protection and low-income housing education and resources.
To learn more about individual Rhode Island AmeriCorps
programs, click on any of these links:
Rhode Island AmeriCorps Grantee Organizations in 2010
Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless
Bridges 4 Learning
City Year Rhode Island
National College
Advising Corps at Brown University
East Bay Community Action Project (EBCAP)
Mount Hope Learning Center
Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative
Providence Children's Museum
Ready to Learn Providence
Scholarships for Service
Amy's AmeriCorps Experience
Amy Smith completed a successful 300-hour AmeriCorps commitment
to service in 2009.
Amy committed to 300 hours of service, gained new friends and earned a $1,000.00 tuition voucher to use to learn something new. To read about Amy's success story, click here.
To view a YouTube video on National Service, click here.
Serve Rhode Island welcomes people of all abilities to learn about, apply for, and participate in all of its programs. Reasonable accommodations are available.
If you would like to learn more about service or service learning as a valuable learning tool; how to link service to high school graduation requirements and Individual Educational Programs; find supports and request accommodations in a service position; or to talk about AmeriCorps opportunities, please contact Kathleen Samways.
