Calvin College - Service-Learning Center

Students- How to Get Involved

There are many ways to get involved with Service-Learning at Calvin. You may do service-learning through your own initiative (SBSL), your classes (ABSL), your residence hall (Residence Hall -Community Partnerships), Spring Break Trips, Special Olympics and Blood Drive donations. We have the capacity and desire to find opportunities that fit your cares, interests and schedule.

Student-Based Service-Learning (SBSL)
This type of service-learning is student-initiated. The principles of service-learning are the same, but the motivations for doing SBSL may be different. There are a variety of reasons why students may wish to service-learn at a particular agency, such as 1) it's within a particular neighborhood that they may live in or have a vested interested in, 2) it provides experiential learning in their area of study or with a population they care about, or 3) it has long-term vocational benefits.
You can organize or participate in a one-time or short-term service-learning project. To see a full list of our SBSL opportunities, click on this link, log in to knightvision and click on the left-hand button "SLC":

Opportunities through the Service-Learning Center

If you have any questions about SBSL opportunities, email the Service-Learning Center student coordinator, Devin Byker, to learn more about these opportunities.

You may also stop by or call the S-LC and talk with one of our staff members. They will help you explore an array of possibilities for finding a place for service-learning that matches your cares and interests.

Lastly, it is critical that each Student-Based service-learner keeps a record of the number of hours they work at each agency for which they service-learn. We need it for our record keeping, and the hours will go on your service-learning transcript.

Residence Hall-Community Partnerships
The Residence Hall-Community Partnerships seek to form a lasting relationship with a Calvin residence hall and an agency in the Grand Rapids community. Each of the seven residence halls is paired with a community agency, and the partnership is facilitated by a sophomore resident called Community Partnership Coordinator (CPC).

Students and agency members work closely together to plan activities (both one-time and weekly) and ensure that both groups needs and expectations are being met. Reciprocity and caring for one another through long-lasting relationships are at the heart of the Residence Hall-Community Partnerships.

Federal Work Study Program
Students who receive financial aid may be eligible to participate in the Federal Service-Learning Work-Study Program. Through this program, the Service-Learning Center offers a limited number of paid service positions in community organizations. Stop in and visit us. Contact Jocelyn Jones with further questions. Posting are also viewable on Knight Vision . Log on to KV - organizations - students - jobshop - Service-Learning Positions.

Application

Spring Break Trips
We coordinate service-learning spring break trips for students each spring. Groups consist of a student leader, an adult mentor and other students, and will travel to places such as New Mexico, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri.Each group has an agency or church that they partner with. The trips incorporate a service component (usually performed in the morning), fieldtrips and day trips, and group and community hang out. No group comes back without a good story.

Special Olympics
Every first Saturday of May, Calvin hosts the Special Olympics at it's track and field complex. The Service-Learning Center in conjunction with the Physical Education department collects student volunteers to partner with an athlete or two and support them throughout their competitions. Mark your calendar for the first Saturday of May, and be on the lookout in early April for advertising for signing up.

View pictures of the 2006 Special Olympics by clicking on the link above!

Blood Drives
Throughout the year Calvin hosts blood drives in which students, faculty and staff can donate their blood to support the Michigan Community Blood Centers (MCBC). Blood Centers are usually in dire need of extra blood, and the MCBC contends that "if all blood donors gave 2 to 4 times a year, blood shortages would be eliminated." The Service-Learning Center assists you helping out patients that suffer from these shortages through four opportunities to give blood throughout the year.

You can read more about the process and requirements for giving blood and the benefits and properties of blood on the MCBC website.

Academically-Based Service-Learning (ABSL)
Many professors offer or require service-learning opportunities in their classes as a way of linking the service you provide to a community with the experiential insight you receive both about the community in which you're working and the course work which you are studying. Classroom learning has direct implications for the ways our community, country and world live. ABSL attempts to bridge the divide between classroom and community.

If you have a question concerning ABSL in your class (i.e. agency placement, how to record your hours), feel free to contact the appropriate ABSL coordinator. Simply send an e-mail to slc@calvin.edu with the name of your ABSL coordinator in the subject line. Otherwise, give us a call at Ext. 6455 and our administrative assistant can help you.

Calvin Environmental Assessment Program
The Calvin Environmental Assessment Program (CEAP) is a group of individuals (mostly faculty but including students and staff) sharing an interest in the environment at Calvin College and its community surroundings.