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Clinton Presidential Records
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National Service
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Rick Allen
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2151
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66
2
3
1
*
SERVICE CONCERNS
*
Obligatory
I'd like to make a fine distinction between
the words "mandatory" and "obligatory." I want all
those between the ages of 16 and 26 to feel a moral
obligation to give some extended time to a service
project. But I would not like to get caught up in the
legal and financial implications of compulsory or
mandatory service.
I'd like older teenagers and young adults to
feel that they would need a very good excuse not to have
done some paid or unpaid voluntary service before the
age of 27. Just as completion of high school is
"expected" of all secondary pupils, so should a time of
service seem a "normal" activity after age 16, or high
school graduation.
Men/Women
Of course, I favor the opportunity to
participate in national service for all young citizens;
women and men together. And for all races, creeds,
abilities, and socio-economic levels. That's not to say
I don't think there should be service programs which are
single sex. But joining these should be the choice of
the volunteer, and not an assignment from some national
service agent.
18
Compensation
Today, there are a plethora of service
opportunities, -- residential and both part and full
time nonresidential. In some, volunteers receive only
expenses and no salary or benefits whatsoever. In many,
there is both modest compensation and expense
reimbursement. Yet other programs, such as some
branches and programs of the armed forces, pay above
minimum wage, all expenses, and provide insurance
policies.
I would have this "marketplace" method of
compensation continue, knowing that some young people
would be attracted to one service opportunity over
another because of the financial returns as well as the
job training aspects.
And I would insist that all service jobs be
exempt from the minimum hourly wage. That each program
should be free to pay (or not pay) as it meets each
program's scope and goals.
I am mindful that this recommendation that
all service programs be exempt from paying the minimum
wage, is what keeps national service from getting
enthusiastic endorsements from labor unions and other
labor-oriented groups.
19
It's also what has Alec Dickson and other
community volunteer supporters talking about the work
volunteers do as that which would not otherwise be done.
I think the scorn in Jack Kemp's remarks about picking
up (or not picking up) cans in Yellowstone, follows from
this defensive claim.
What Dickson and many of the conservation
corps supporters are trying to do, of course, is to
mollify the laborers (and their organizers); to assure
them that the young volunteers are not taking jobs away
from them.
But the danger is that both laborers and
volunteers will believe that service work is make-work,
and not something worth doing or vital to the health and
success of our nation. The cynical will suspect that
obligating youth for a year of service is just a
delaying tactic; a punishment, if you will, for being
young and energetic and full of enthusiasm.
One way to heal this false sense of service
is, I would argue, to begin service in kindergarten, and
continue through all the school years. Let every single
pupil in every school give some time each day to a
school-related chore. Sweeping, cleaning, dusting,
typing, washing, preparing, stacking, running errands,
and so forth. Those who do their school chores, well and
faithfully and intelligently, should receive praise, but
not pennies.
20
In addition, each school should have its own
outreach program -- perhaps "adopt" a nursing home, or
agree to maintain certain town parks, or operate a day-
care center. Whether it's an elementary or secondary
school, ways should be found to include every pupil in
this outreach project.
Of course, in-school as well as school
outreach service should not be reimbursed.
Entitlements
The WWII GI Bill taught us an important
lesson. This entitlement, for those choosing service in
the armed forces, not only served as an inducement for
enlistment and reinlistment, but proved to provide some
8 million ex service personnel with the necessary
education to become a success as a civilian.
There is every reason for as many service
programs as possible to offer entitlements, particularly
the tying of a successful, and possibly difficult,
period of service to some further education. There is
even some talk, particularly in the U.S. Congress, of
making service a prerequisite for college financial aid.
That's more than a billion dollars in 1985 terms!
21
Of course, it's totally irresponsible for the
federal government to require prior service before
providing educational financial aid at this point, since
national service is not part of the current national
agenda, and there are so few service opportunities
available to the target (16-26) age group.
There are some service programs which offer a
cash "bonus" or an entitlement to service volunteers, to
be provided if -- and only if -- the service work has
been faithfully executed.
This makes enormous sense for juvenile
offenders, particulary those who are institutionalized.
It means that the day they are released, they are not
thrown back onto the streets needing to earn or take
what they need to survive, but have their bonus to start
them off as participating citizens.
This paying of a fixed sum at the end of a
period of service, makes sense, as well, for many low-
income young people who need to be taught how to invest;
how to delay immediate gratification; how to stretch
money; and how to use that entitlement and their service
experience to put them on that all-important career
ladder.
A word about the working teenager the 16-19
year old who'se working several hours a day in a fast-
food or tourist facility.
22
It is presumed by critics of national service
that he or she would not want to stop earning to do
unpaid service; yet, if college financial aid is tied to
service, the working teen may be placed in a regretful
bind.
It's my contention that these employers, so
dependent on their young, cheap labor force, would
supply service opportunities and encourage participation
for their employees. I can envision, for example, a
summer tourist hotel providing transportation to and
from a local retirement home for all dining room and
cleaning staff.
I can easily envision a fast-food restaurant
supplying the home-bound with meals and other services,
and offering the transportation and necessary training
for all interested employees.
Service Time
How long should national service be?
Eighteen months? Two years? At the discretion of the
volunteer?
Even though a time of service isn't
mandatory; hence a fixed period of time cannot be
compulsory, is there some time span which might be
considered "obligatory?"
23
That is, unless the 16 to 26 year old
volunteered for XXX hours, doing XXX type of work, would
what he or she had done be considered national service?
Many advocates of national service suggest a
minimum of 20 hours a week, or 1,000 hours in a year. I
am more inclined to think in terms of varying the
obligation time in accordance with the intensity of the
service opportunity.
The young person who chooses a residential
program, for example, in a facility for the handicapped,
might want to count at least 18 hours of each 24 hour
day as service time, and hence consider their service
"obligation" completed in as little as three months.
While the student or young worker who
squeezes in a few hours of voluntary service in a local
retirement home a couple evenings a week between work
and social engagements, might think two years was
about the right time to discharge his/her obligation.
Who Qualifies to Offer Service ?
Every government agency and every non-profit
organization. By not making national service mandatory,
and hence not making it a function of government, but a
democratic choice, all church organizatons which carry
out service projects should be able to qualify for
national service volunteers.
24
And this could mean, were college financial
aid to be tied to service, that doing church-related
service work would not, automatically make a volunteer
ineligible.
Theodore R. Sizer, in his "National Service
Education Study," estimates that the schools could
absorb as many as a million (1,000,000) volunteers
annually. Mostly as mentors, classroom aides, and
management helpers.
Other studies, notably one carried out by the
Urban Institute, project up to 4 million service
openings annually -- over and above those in the armed
forces and the schools -- in such fields as: health and
hospital services (clinics, nursing homes); social
services (senior-citizen and day-care centers);
environment and conservation; police and fire
protection services; and cultural services (libraries
and museums).
As for the arguments of certification and
qualification, again by not making the service
mandatory, this removes the need for an elaborate
qualifying or certifying agency.
25
If, in fact, government financial aid were to
be tied to completing XXX hours of service in a
"qualified" service organization, those requriments
would be tied to the giving of the aid, and not to the
offering of service opportunities. I would avoid the
certification or qualification route, agreeing with the
general qualifications of all government and not-for-
profit agencies. Then let the volunteers avoid those
with little to offer them.
In other words, I would concentrate my
energies on the selection process, making every effort
to provide potential service volunteers with as much
information as possible about the strengths and
weaknesses -- as well as the peculiarities -- of each
service program. This would be in the hands of the
National Service Agents.
Recognition
This is essential. Yes, service has its own
inner rewards, but we're bucking a 200-year tradition of
not volunteering; not serving. And we need to make this
obligation -- this democratic responsibility -- seem as
important and as fulfilling as any democratic right.
Again, it all must start in school with the
very youngest pupils being cited and honored for
faithfully doing their assigned chores.
26
And each school's outreach project should get
as much attention from the media and the community as it
deserves. Occasions must be found, as well as made, to
honor the service by the students and staff.
Certainly the voluntary service done by 16 to
26 year olds should be recognized, applauded, awarded,
and rewarded. The armed forces have taught us how; no
recruit, no matter how humble his/her assignment, is
left out of notification to the home-town newspaper.
All service workers should get the same attention.
And it is up to the organization, not to the
volunteer, to provide the mass media and community
organizations with the information they need to
publicize and give recognition to faithful citizen-
soldiers.
Publicity
I offer three examples of excellent
recruiting publicity. The first is for a government-
financed Canadian service program which lasts for nine
months, is residential, and places volunteers in groups
of 12. There is no pay; although there is a $1 a day
allowance and a $1,000 honorarium (or bonus) which is
awarded at the close of the service period.
27
One brochure explains, "Katimavik is an
action-learning program of volunteer work. It's for
young people from 17 to 21 years of age who want to
acquire working experience; travel across Canada; help
communities; and learn to live as a group.
"It's for young people who want to work hard
-- both physically and socially; while developing
themselves personally.
"So, if you are a Canadian or landed
immigrant, single, in good health, and with a taste for
full-time living Katimavik needs you to carry out its
many community help projects around the country."
The second example of enticing publicity
describes a service program run by the state of
Washington's Employment Security Department.
The cover of the brochure states in big, bold
letters: "IT'S NOT A PICNIC." Then in smaller print
just underneath: "It's an experience in helping
others." This service program is for those between the
ages of 18 and 25 who are unemployed. Each receives a
modest monthly stipend, and projects last anywhere from
six months to a year.
The brochure continues: "Going out into the
community and providing the services that are needed --
that's what the Service Corps is all about. It's for
those people who want to improve the quality of life for
everyone in their community."
28
The Minnesota Conservation Corps is part of
that state's Department of Natural Resources. The young
adult program pays 18 to 26-year olds the minimum hourly
wage for 6 to 12 months of 40-hour weeks. Their
brochure cover states:
"IT'S MORE THAN A JOB." Next line in smaller
print: "It's a commitment."
>>>
29
*
THE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
*
The Agency
Ideally, the National Service Agency (NSA)
should be independent, with its own cabinet-level
director; its own staff and funding. But it could be
within the Departments of Labor or Education. And might
best be placed in one of those departments for the trial
10-year period. And let the issue of whether it should
be completely separate be one of the evaluation team's
findings.
I believe that all those concerned with the
move to an all-volunteer armed forces would agree with
the judgment to try voluntary national service for 10
years, minimum. Unfair to attempt to determine the
worth of such a program in a shorter period of time.
And further, to avoid politicizing the agency,
the director should be appointed by the President for a
5-year term, renewable once.
The Agents
It's not unreasonable to ask the question:
"Which should come first, the volunteers or the service
jobs?" To help solve that "chicken and egg" dilemma, I
have created a new community-based, federally-funded
position: the national service agent (or advisor).
30
It's possible that the evaluation unit could
determine, toward the end of the 10-year trial period,
that 40,000 agents are 30,000 too many, or redundant
altogether. I see all 40,000, though, as vital to the
beginning years.
We haven't got 4 million service jobs for the
under 27-year - old set lined up. Other than the
military, the largest estimate hovers around 25,000
service positions calling for 1,000 hours within a two-
year period.
The public schools, for example, are expected
in this plan to provide 800,000 service jobs, yet today
there aren't 1,000 available throughout the entire US!
By placing these 40,000 agents singly in every
public secondary school in the US, we'll have in place
those charged with the task of stimulating the creation
of interesting and fulfilling service jobs; the same
persons who would be finding the young people to fill
those positions.
In other words, the agents would be creating
hens and eggs simultaneously. And to help them, they
would have a state-of-the-art computer system, as
sophisticated and responsive as those presently used by
more than 25,000 independent travel agencies.
31
Each agent should recruit three volunteers;
that is, three of the 16 to 26 year olds intersted in
meeting their national service obligation. And each
would be guaranteed a $5,000 education entitlement at
the end of the 1,000 hours of service (5 hours a day, 5
days a week, for 40 weeks).
The agents themselves should be drawn from the
large pool of reserve armed forces officers, ex
volunteers from such programs as VISTA and the Peace
Corps, and present as well as former participants in
such community organizations as the National School
Volunteers Service Program.
I do not believe that many serving now as
guidance counselors in any of our secondary schools
have the right qualifications or interests to be
national service agents. Nor do I think the job of high
school guidance counselor could be expanded to include
also being a voluntary service guide.
Each national service agent, with help from
the three volunteers, would need to spend considerable
time investigating all service opportunities within
nearby commuting distance; the better to place
volunteers in the best situation for them. Also,
considerable time would need to be spent getting to know
the 16 to 26 year olds in the area, finding ways to
match their needs with their interests and abilities.
32
Naturally, the better agents would be those
with past volunteering experience. And I am assured,
talking with officials in the major volunteer services,
that there are many more than 40,000 who could be very
interested in being involved in this 10-year - experiment.
The Computer
Mindful of the motto of the White House's
Private Sector Initiatives Office -- "Can't the private
sector do it better?" -- the computer program, listing
all available service opportunities both in this country
and abroad, should be purchased after a competitive
bidding competition.
And whoever supplies the computer program
which would be used by every national service agent
throughout the US, should supply, as well, a monthly
updated paperback listing of the major service projects.
Copies of these should be available in all school and
public libraries.
I envision that this computer system, like the
ones used by travel agents, would be constantly updated
providing not only all the basic information about each
service program, but space availability as well, just as
is now available to travel agents booking airline
flights on many different carriers.
33
The Evaluators
Here I envision a small team of research
specialists who would contract -- again through
competitive bidding -- with field researchers to
determine the success (failure) of this 10-year effort.
One concern, mentioned in the background
section of this paper, is the voting record of the
target age group. Certainly the NSA evaluation unit
would want to know whether all this effort to stimultate
service activity had resulted in a higher percentage of
voters, more interest in particpatory democracy
(willingness to particpate in jury duty, attendance at
town meetings, more candidates for elective office), and
so forth.
Another concern of today's school reformers
is both the amount and quality of civic education in the
public schools. Researchers would want to track how
this had changed (or stayed the same) over the service-
oriented decade.
It's possible, should a school decide to open
several places for service volunteers, that it would ask
one or more of these 16 to 26-year olds to supervise the
in-school service chores done by all the pupils, and to
help with the school-related service project.
34
But the evaluation team must deal, as well,
with the argument as to whether 4 million volunteers are
taking jobs away from adults, and whether the influx of
4 million additional volunteers has a negative, a
positive, or neutral effect on unemployment.
Employment levels nationwide, as I write
this paper, remain under 8 percent for the population as
a whole, but more than 40 percent for young black males.
Which leads to an important questions: What impact over
the 10-year period did a year of national service
undertaken by XXX percent of the black 16 to 26 year
olds have on this figure?
Of course, it is my contention, that we will
see a drop in unemployment numbers for young blacks,
Hispanics, and whites as national service absorbs and
trains a significant percent of the population.
There's also the enormous danger that national
service -- perceived to cut across all racial and
socieo-economic lines -- would have not done so, but
that there would be one kind of service activity (and
attendant pay scales and entitlements) for one set of
young Americans and a far inferior kind for another set.
This would make a travesty of what those of
us in favor of national service see as a way to meet the
twin goals of excellence and equity.
>>>
35
*
A STATE ALTERNATIVE *
I'm told by those whom I have every reason to
believe know what they are saying, that there is no
possibility that this US President this year or next
will set up a National Service Agency.
Hence what would seem much more likely to
occur is that one or more states, in a strong fiscal
position, and interested both in school reform and in
citizenship training, might set up a State Service
Agency.
The needs are similar; so is the suggested
management system.
There would be a director, support staff, a
personnel office (for locating and hiring the state
service agents), a computer program unit (to hold the
competition for a service-related computer system and
supervise the contract), as many state service agents as
there are secondary schools, three times as many
volunteers working with the agents as there are agents,
and a small evaluation team.
Simultaneously with setting up this state
office, the state commissioner of education would begin
working with the schools to encourage them to provide a
daily chore for each pupil. And further, encourage.
each school to choose a community service project.
36
And as in the national plan, each local and
state office would be urged (by the state agency as well
as the governor's office) to create as many service jobs
as possible to offer the state's older teenagers and
young adults.
The information of what they would have to
offer, compensation, slots to be filled, requirements,
etc., would all be prepared and place in the computer
program.
Of course, all volunteer agencies in the state
would look for ways they could help use these young
people, and possibly sponsor invigorating media programs
to give wide exposure to programs already in progress.
Again, ideally, it would be a great deal more
instructive if more than one state agreed to test
obligatory service for its 16-26-year old residents.
At least one Southern state; certainly one in
the Northeast. One in the Midwest, and one in the far
West.
Then the federal obligation could be solely
evaluative. Either the U. S. Department of Education or
of Labor could contract with private research teams and
organizations to get answers to the questions impinging
on whether national service would be in the nation's
best interest.
If so, what would be the best way to manage such?
>>>
37
*
CONCLUSION
*
I feel intrepid. Others, working longer and
harder on this problem of how to put national service on
the national agenda, have concluded that there isn't
sufficient interest or will to make national service
national. Or even to have a statewide trial.
Even Professor Janowitz, who declares that
If
there can be no reconstruction of patriotism without
a system of national service," doesn't think either
enough young people, nor the federal government, are
prepared at this time for an obligatory service program.
Hence, he supports what is happening now, local
projects of various types, loosely federated, which, as
they grow in importance, may lead, he hopes, to
statewide service and eventually to a national system.
I just don't think that's the way we'll ever
offer every young person the opportunity to learn what
it means to serve. As Pres. Johnson said, when
no
man truly has lived who only served himself."
I don't want just one state to try statewide
service. At the very least, I want several states to
try. And I want federal money to support these trials;
and federal evaluators to track what happens.
And I want legislators to recognize that we
can't start a service program one year and close it the
next, but that we must give service a 10-year trial.
38
But what I really want is a national service
commitment.
I want us, too, to recognize that the purpose
of service is not job skills (though they are
important), nor comradeship (though that's essential to
"the pursuit of happiness"), but citizenship -- the
developing of small "d" democrats.
Our country's broken and we need to fix it.
All of us need to fix it, not just a caring group here,
and a worried group there, and a committed group over
there. Enough patches, I'll admit, and the whole may be
mended.
But this is a vast nation, and the problems
with our democracy are not spread evenly throughout. We
need national attention to this national problem;
national attention which lets us solve the problems
locally one by one.
If the present national leadership --
executive or legislative -- will not manage service for
us all, are there not a half dozen states ready and
willing to lead the way?
I'll volunteer to help. What about you?
end
39
SerVermont
file
Students in Community Service
10 May 1993
Susan Stroud
Office of National Service
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Susan, et al:
In all honesty and earnestness, I feel that nothing less is at stake from
your national service effort than a more participatory democratic way
of life and a more relevant public school system in our nation.
It's such a cliche, I blush to say it, but if God is going to bless these
United States, we must do a better job of preparing our youth for
active, caring citizenship. And, as you know, I've long been an
advocate for student community service from kindergarten through
grade twelve, and for national service available to all youth aged
sixteen through twenty-five.
I covered these movements for the fourteen years I was education
editor of The Christian Science Monitor, and in 1985, with the aid of a
Gould Foundation grant, spent a year researching why national
service, touted by president after president in speeches, had not
entered the fabric of our nation. Since then, I have authored several
books on education, all calling for youth service nationwide.
The Clinton administration is doing it right; and you, who are working
out the details, have my every support. When testimony before
Congress is desirable, please let me know, and I will arrange for both
service-learning advocates and youth to witness the importance of
national service.
Yours sincerely,
Cynic
Enclosure: Report of Ser Vermont's first seven years.
Cynthia Parsons, Coordinator, P.O. Box 516, Chester, VT 05143
Phone & Fax 802/875-2278
Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or
visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
(18PP)
ser (1986-1992) Vermont- - The First Seven Years
Ser Vermont
The First Seven Years
[1986 - 1992]
By
P.O. Box 516
Cynthia Parsons
Chester, VT 05143
(
Gooduni
file
TRINITY
OF VERMONT
Community Service Learning Program
COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM - FAST FACTS, 9/93
PURPOSE:
To engage Trinity College of Vermont students, faculty and staff in community service programs designed to
(1) increase development of civic and social responsibility, (2) foster concern and action for social justice and
community needs locally and globally, and (3) integrate the college's commitment to service with its
commitment to liberal arts education.
STRUCTURE:
The program is part of the college's Student Life department and is closely linked to a student club, Project
G.I V.E. (Growing In Volunteer Efforts), which fosters student leadership of community service efforts. It is
staffed by a full time, 12 month Director and two 9 month work study students.
ACTIVITIES:
Local- In 1993, over 300 participants (school full time equivalent of 662) volunteered in excess of 10,000 hours
of service at scores of area agencies helping children, elders, hungry persons, homeless persons, offenders,
abused women and children, rape victims, animals, and the environment. A national model scholarship program
assisted 18 low-income single parent students who attended Trinity full time and performed 6 hours per week of
community service while maintaining high academic standards. Nine graduates of the Scholars program joined
five prior graduates replacing welfare checks with paychecks.
Statewide- The program Director and participants were very active in multi-campus community service
programs and in development of Campus SerVermont, an organization of community service program directors
from Vermont colleges and universities. The program is also actively involved in the development and support
of volunteer coordinator networks and in training for volunteer coordinators. Trinity's program also serves as
the Vermont Hub campus for C.O.O.L. (Campus Outreach Opportunity League). We also worked in consortium
with three area colleges to develop a U.S. Department of Education grant application for urban community
service programming, and we are developing a literacy program grant application in cooperation with local
schools and the Vermont Literacy Board.
Regional- The college continued active participation in Campus Compact and the National Student Campaign
Against Hunger and Homelessness.
National- Our students participated in Alternative Spring Breaks to Washington D.C. and the Appalachian
mountain region of Kentucky. They worked in soup kitchens and shelters; discussed the issues of hunger,
homelessness and abuse with policy-makers including U.S. Senators and Vermont's Congressman; and shared
their experiences with many of their classmates upon return to campus. The college also continued serving as
the national center for the Single Parent Education Consortium which serves to bring together college program
organizers to share resources, research and information about programs benefitting single parents seeking self-
sufficiency through higher education. Trinity was one of 15 colleges invited to send five-person teams to
participate in the Campus Compact Summer Institute on Integrating Service with Academic Study. Trinity's
President, Sr. Janice Ryan, traveled to Washington to assist President Clinton's transition team working on
drafting the National Service Trust Act. She also attended the White House ceremony at which the President
signed the Act into law.
208 Colchester Avenue
Burlington, Vermont 05401
802/658-0337
TRINITY
COLLEGE
OF VERMONT
Community Service Learning Program
COMMUNITY SERVICE SCHOLARS PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION:
The Community Service Scholars Program at Trinity College of Vermont was
established in the Fall of 1989 to give single parents on welfare an opportunity to earn a four-year
degree while volunteering at least six hours per week in community service projects. It was the first
program in the country to pair college work with community service and in so doing, dramatically
improve Scholars' self-image. The program began with 12 Scholars and now enrolls twenty-two
Scholars each year. The target is for 36 Scholars to be enrolled annually.
The objectives include providing means for single parents, primarily women, to:
- develop real skills necessary for employment adequate to provide self-sufficiency
- develop critical thinking and reasoning skills for full participation in civic and social life
- develop high self-esteem and leadership skills
- demonstrate commitment to community service
- demonstrate self- and peer-advocacy
- complete requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in a chosen field
SUPPORT:
Scholars receive a scholarship each year to cover educational expenses and
have access to on-campus day care. Academic and personal support is provided by the Program
Director, the Coordinator of Academic Advising, a campus-based social welfare case manager and by
other scholars in the program in similar situations. Scholars participate in an intensive residential
orientation program as well as in regular support group meetings.
FUNDING:
Trinity College of Vermont supports the Community Service Scholars with the
help of businesses, individuals, foundations and public grants. The college is now seeking an
endowment for this program.
SELECTION:
Candidates must be single parents who meet the academic standards for
admission and demonstrate financial need. In particular, the program seeks parents with leadership
potential, drive to take charge of their lives, and a commitment to community and public service.
CONSORTIUM:
In 1990, Trinity's Director of Community Service Learning, Bruce Spector,
organized the national Single Parent Education Consortium to bring together college program
organizers to share resources, research and information.
OUTCOME:
Over one-half of the Scholars maintain Dean's List status (G.P.A. of 3.5 or
better) and the program's retention rate exceeds 90%. To date there have been 14 graduates from this
Program who are successfully breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. They are pursuing professional
careers in a wide range of positions and attending graduate school. One woman is a credit analyst at a
local credit union; another works in biotechnology; another is an advocate for children's issues;
another is pursuing her Doctorate in Economics. The additional value gained by having these women
serve as role models for their families and others is one of the incalculable results of the Program.
208 Colchester Avenue
Burlington, Vermont 05401
802/658-0337
TRINITY
OF VERMONT
Community Service Learning Program
Sept. 20, 1993
Prepared by: Bruce Darwin Spector, J.D.
Community Service Learning Program Director
Trinity's Community Service Learning Program
A. The history and purposes
From the time of Trinity College's founding in 1925, public and community service have
been implicit in its mission and part of the College's Catholic tradition. Service to the poor is
part of the heritage of the Sisters of Mercy. The college's present day mission statement
explicitly stresses the values dimension of education which is embodied in the notion of
learning through service.
In August, 1986, partly in response to national survey results indicating a decline in student
involvement in community service and of a general climate of apathy and disinterest in social
justice and civic responsibility, Trinity College President Sr. Janice E. Ryan called upon the
Trinity community to actively embrace a college-wide theme of Civic and Social
Responsibility. Inherent in the theme were three central objectives: (1) to provide role
models for students of persons at Trinity who engaged in public and community service; (2)
to create opportunities to promote recognition of our increasing global interdependence; and
(3) to integrate civic and social responsibility and social justice elements into the curriculum.
Pursuit of these objectives raised several questions, including whether our teaching imparts a
sense of civic duty; whether it creates a mindfulness of our government or of our college
policies and their impact on social justice issues; and whether the Trinity experience results
in feelings of, or attitudes of, responsibility for the common good.
The Community Service Learning Program at Trinity was established in the fall of 1987 with
the receipt of a three-year federal Student Community Service ACTION grant which allowed
Trinity to hire a 1/2 FTE Project Director. In 1989 Trinity received a two-year F.I.P.S.E.
(Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) grant which enabled us to initiate
the Community Service Scholars Program which assists low-income single parents attending
Trinity full time and performing community service. The program director increased to full
time and a half-time program assistant was hired. Upon expiration of the ACTION and
F.I.P.S.E. grants Trinity assumed full support of the program, deleting only the program
assistant position. The Scholars program has grown from an enrollment of 12 students in the
Fall of 1989 to 22 students this Fall.
The mission of the Community Service Learning Program is to engage students in
community service activities and projects in order to heighten students' awareness of social
problems and to foster an active concern for social justice and community needs on a local
208 Colchester Avenue
Burlington, Vermont 05401
802/658-0337
and global basis. Ultimately, the program was designed to integrate a sense of civic and
social responsibility more fully into students' learning at Trinity College and to serve
community needs. By heightening students' awareness of the global and local community
needs and social problems, the program fosters a social justice perspective to education.
B. Project G.I.V.E.
The initial aim of the program was to implement a student leadership model aimed at
enlisting students as the driving force behind the development of community service
programs. To that end, Project G.I.V.E. (Growing In Volunteer Efforts) was established. As
the service-learning movement nationwide and at Trinity has expanded to include many
aspects which require full-time professional staffing (i.e., integration with academic study;
grant management; state, regional and national advocacy for programs; and management of
large numbers of diverse participants) the Project G.I.V.E. model had to be adjusted to
realistically reflect the more limited nature of what portion of the service-learning activities
could be carried out by student leaders, particularly in light of their financial and time
constraints.
C. Where we are and where we're headed
Trinity's involvement in community service-learning is part of the lived experience of the
college's roots, mission and character. The program assists the college in encouraging
students' understanding for and appreciation of diversity, development of students' value
systems upon which decisions and actions are based, and creation of socially responsible
citizens eager to be involved in service to their community.
There are three major components to the program: PROJECT G.I.V.E., the COMMUNITY
SERVICE SCHOLARS PROGRAM and GENERAL PROGRAMS.
PROJECT G.I.V.E. is a recognized Trinity College student club whose members participate
in a wide variety of service projects in which they take a major leadership role. G.I.V.E.
members serve in individualized placements in scores of local agencies serving children,
elders, people with disabilities, and others. They also serve in groups at places such as the
Humane Society and the Correctional Center, and they sponsor and participate in one-day
events such as INTO THE STREETS and HUNGER CLEANUP to provide needed services,
educate volunteers about community needs, and raise funds for those in need.
The COMMUNITY SERVICE SCHOLARS PROGRAM, established in 1989, serves low-
income single parent students who also perform 6 hours of Community Service per week as
part of their program of full time education and financial aid. This nationally heralded
program serves 22 students and has already graduated 14 students, most of whom are
employed full time in their fields or in graduate school, and are no longer receiving public
assistance.
GENERAL PROGRAMS includes a wide array of programs designed to offer the benefits of
service-learning to every member of the Trinity community. Included are Freshman Reach-
Out (all freshmen perform service in area agencies during their first day on campus),
Alternative Spring Break (students serve in Washington D.C. and Appalachia during the
break), the United Way campaign, and service performed in conjunction with specific course
work in courses such as Introduction to Social Work, Teaching in an Integrated Setting, and
Social Justice.
This category also includes the largest component of the Community Service Learning
Program, individualized placements of students at area agencies. These commitments average
4 hours per week per student and customarily last for a full academic year.
The programs are also actively integrated with the Peace and Justice program, Campus
Ministry, and with Residential Life activities. Trinity's program has also established joint
programs annually with the service-learning programs at the University of Vermont and St.
Michael's College.
The programs have grown steadily in size and scope over the past 5 years. During the 1992-
1993 school year over 300 Trinity students, faculty and staff participated in service activities
which resulted in over 10,000 hours of service to the local community (and some not-so-local
communities, such as Washington D.C. and Inez, Kentucky).
Trinity is also a national leader is service-learning, having initiated the Community Service
Scholars Program and the national Single Parent Education Consortium, co-founding Campus
SerVermont (a Vermont version of Campus Compact), and actively participating in
advocating regionally and nationally for service-learning programs in higher education.
Most recently, the high quality of Trinity's program and the college's commitment to
service-learning were rewarded by the selection of Trinity college to receive a grant from
Campus Compact to send a faculty/staff team to the University of Colorado June 19-25 to
participate in the Campus Compact 1993 Institute on Integrating Service with Academic
Study. Those attending from Trinity were Oren Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities;
Donna Dalton, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Department Chair of Basic and Applied
Social Sciences; Pam Jarvis, M.B.A., Associate Professor of Business and Economics;
Marilyn Howell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Basic and Applied Social Sciences; and
Bruce Spector, J.D., Director of the Community Service Learning Program and Adjunct
Lecturer of Humanities. Brent Poppenhagen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Business and
Economics and Vice President for Academic Affairs, is also a member of the team and
participated in the team's preparation for the Institute.