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As we discussed last time, here are some examples of Lifelong Learners and how they engage in Meaningful Community Service The Institute for Continuing Learning (ICL) at Young Harris College in Georgia is an excellent example of engaging in both lifelong learning and community service. This excerpt is taken from an article in their spring 2004 newsletter, written by Lucy Scofield. Almost all ICL members are great volunteers. They all have “causes” and they give freely of their time and enthusiasm. With most, it has been a way of life ever since we sold Girl Scout cookies and such when we were young. ICL itself is non-profit and totally dependent upon the active support of its membership. We teach, organize, keep books, publish bulletins of course schedules and write this quarterly newsletter to the membership. This is necessary for the group’s survival. However, there is another side to the lives of ICL members. We participate in so many different activities that it is impossible to name them all in this space. But here is a sampling of activities in which members have recently participated. Other examples of meaningful community service by lifelong learners include the following: The Academy for Lifelong Learning (A.L.L.) at Carnegie Mellon University has been providing tutors for the last six years to a local elementary school. A.L.L. members work with students who need help with reading and math. The Academy also donated a new fax machine to the school. The Center for Learning in Retirement at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL offers its members the chance to learn how to teach reading to adults. Once the course is completed, members can then become volunteer tutors in their community.
The Renaissance Institute at the College of Notre Dame in Maryland is committed to taking part in service and intergenerational programs. In the Freshman Interviews program, members are interviewed by students from the Perspectives on Education and Culture course. Along with that program, a six-week Service Learning program has been started for members who are interested in finding out just what service learning is all about. They will then use this knowledge to identify community outreach initiatives. Members of the Seniors’ Education Centre at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan have a chance to participate in the Outreach and Applied Research Projects that take place at the University. Among the projects currently underway are Rural Education Outreach, Intercultural Grandmothers and Older Adult Literacy projects. Members of the Senior College at Lewiston-Auburn College in Maine are involved in a unique service program entitled Franco-American Architecture in Lewiston. They do cultural fieldwork and developed an exhibit around this theme. Course activity includes oral history, geography, genealogy, archaeology and archival research. The Academy for Learning in Retirement at Saratoga Springs, New York has members who sit on boards of local organizations, work in soup kitchens and food pantries, volunteer at hospices and work in museums and churches. Members of the Adult Learning Program at the University of Connecticut in Hartford volunteer at the Athenaeum, and do volunteer teaching at the local high schools. The Academy for Senior Professionals at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida says its membership volunteers their time at 110 non-profit agencies in the area. A few of the wide-ranging activities include fundraising for the local orchestra, docent activities at museums, working at a spouse abuse center, sitting on boards, teaching courses at local schools, providing low income tax assistance and working in churches. The membership of the Berkshire Institute for Lifetime Learning at Berkshire Community College in Massachusetts are deeply involved in volunteering at the many cultural activities in the area. They also volunteer to read for the bind and dyslexic, construct housing for the homeless, work at various libraries and volunteer at local hospitals and hospices.
A sampling of volunteer activities from the Lifelong Learning Institute at Caldwell College in New Jersey includes establishment of a computer science curriculum in grades K-8 at two local schools, serving on the Educational Advisory boards and on various committees at these schools. These activities clearly demonstrate the link between lifelong learning and community service. The two just naturally go together. In the next column we’ll begin discussing some concrete ways you can take part in Meaningful Community Service. Till Next Time…  |
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