Volunteer and Service-Learning Center Exchange

Volume 2, Issue 4

Spring, 2008

Inside This Issue:

Cover: 3rd Annual Volunteer Fair: Volunteer it’s Good for the Heart Buffalo State College Students Serving the Community

Pg. 2 Asarese-Matters Community Center: Food, Fashion and Fun Sale Service-Learning Feature: Upstate New York Transplant Services

Pg. 3 Fall 2007 Celebration of Service Service-Learning Perspectives

Pg. 4 Snapshots of Service-Learning

Pg. 5- 6 Service-Learning Perspectives

Pg. 7-9 VSLC Bulletin Board

Pg. 10 About the Center

VSLC Exchange

3rd Annual Volunteer Fair: Volunteer it’s Good for the Heart By Josephine Zagarella

On February 13, 2008 the Campbell Student Union, was the place to be for students looking to volunteer in the community. The 3rd annual Volunteer Fair sponsored by the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center (VSLC) was a success. “The fair was very helpful, it provided useful information concerning activities for students of all majors,” remarked one student participant.

Representatives from over twenty area non-profit organizations attended the fair. They presented students with one-time, short-term or long term volunteer opportunities as well as student group projects. They provided diverse volunteer options including working with youth, senior citizens, cultural groups and assisting refugees resettle.

The participating agencies were especially interested in recruiting Buffalo State College student volunteers. The student turnout for this event was very strong, agencies reported speaking to over 300 students.

Students from all majors can gain valuable experience through volunteering. The VSLC organizes additional opportunities such as Earth Day and Community Service Day to help students connect with the community. Students can also access the Career Development Center’s online job site ORCA, for interesting and challenging volunteer opportunities.

Buffalo State College Students Serving the Community

Service-Learning Feature: Upstate New York Transplant Services By Josephine Zagarella

Page 2 VSLC Exchange

Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS) is a non-profit procurement organization established in 1981, that is federally authorized to accept anatomical gifts for transplantation and/or medical research.

During the summer of 2007, UNYTS opened Western New York’s first community blood bank, a project that will provide blood products to patients in local hospitals.

UNYTS has shown a true commitment to WNY by engaging in collaborative relationships with area colleges and universities specifically with Buffalo State College (BSC). BSC have been able to partner UNYTS with service-learning classes and sponsor local blood drives on our campus.

In the fall of 2007 two groups of students from Dr. Diane McFarland’s Business 320: Principles of Marketing class and one group of students from Business 327: Advertising Concepts and Practices class

partnered with UNYTS on service-learning projects that were designed to address both the marketing and advertising needs of the organization.

For over 25 years, UNYTS has routinely secured higher rates of organ, tissue and eye donation than the national average, and the organization is poised to broaden this success in doing the same with blood. What a great opportunity for our students to develop advertising and market plans for this vital service.

These student-generated plans provided UNYTS with several important pieces of information, including brand image suggestions such as how to identify target markets, market-specific strategies, target market identification assistance relating to student populations, product placement strategies and more.

UNYTS will utilize these plans in an effort to encourage better participation in the UNYTS-sponsored blood drives that are held at Buffalo State College during the course of the school year.

In a letter praising the work of the service-learning students , UNYTS Director of Education Michael Hill said, “I'm happy to say that the quality of the marketing plan that these students developed for our organization was top-notch. It was crea-tive, thoughtful and well-researched. I have no doubt that several of the recom-mendations listed in their plan will be adopted and utilized by Upstate New York Transplant Services.”

Dr. McFarland’s students demonstrated a great deal of interest, enthusiasm and dedication to both UNYTS and the development of the marketing plan itself. “Their work is really going to be of great benefit to our organization, and for that we are most grateful.” said Hill. To learn more about Buffalo State College’s service-learning partnership with UNTYS log onto: www. Unyts.org/collegePartnerships.htm

Asarese-Matters Community Center: Food, Fashion and Fun Sale By Josephine Zagarella

On Saturday, December 15, 2007 Buffalo State College’s Alumni Association, College and Community Partnerships Office, and the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center came together to sponsor the Asarese-Matters Community Center’s “Food, Fashion and Fun Sale”.

BSC students, faculty, and staff collected and donated toiletry and personal care items as well as gently used clothing. The donated clothing was sold to families in need of warm winter attire (at very affordable prices). All proceeds from the sale went towards the Center’s youth programs. In addition, over 100 bags filled with toiletries were distributed free of charge to the children at the Center.

We were encouraged by the generosity of the Buffalo State College community. This event helped us to build a stronger connection to the neighborhood surrounding the campus by taking care of our neighbors and people in need.

Earth Day Great American

Clean-up

Saturday, April 19, 2008

8:30am-12:00pm

For more information contact

(716) 878-5811

Page 3 VSLC Exchange

Service-Learning: Perspectives

Save the Date!

Celebration of Service

April 29, 2008

Butler Library 210

11:00am-12:15pm

Poster and Visual Presentation

12:15pm-1:30pm

Awards Presentation

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center would like to acknowledge all students, faculty and community partners who

participated in the Fall 2007 service-learning activities. This semester’s award winners include:

Fall 2007 Celebration of Service

Outstanding Undergraduate Student

Academic Achievement in a Service-Learning

Course:

John LaScala

COM 301 Principles of Public Relations and

Advertising

Outstanding Graduate Student Academic

Achievement in a Service-Learning Course:

Susannah White

CRS 610 Facilitation of Group Problem Solving

Outstanding Service-Learning Course:

CRS 303 Creative Leadership Through

Effective Facilitation

Outstanding Graduate Student Community

Service in a Service-Learning Course:

14 Hours or Less:

Kevin Tucker

CSP 650 Student Assessment: Tests and

Measurements

Outstanding Student Community Service in a

Service-Learning Course: 15 Hours or More:

Jaime Flor

COM 439 Television Directing and Producing

Outstanding Service-Learning

Community Partner

American Red Cross: Greater Buffalo Chapter

Kyle Ailinger, Communications Associate

Outstanding Faculty Commitment to

Service-Learning:

Dr. John Cabra

CRS 610 Creative Problem Solving Through

Effective Facilitation

Outstanding Undergraduate Student

Community Service in a Service-Learning

Course: 14 Hours or Less

Marcel Aiken

HTR 380 Advanced Training in Hospitality

A Faculty Perspective

John F. Cabra, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Creativity and Change Leadership

The importance of creative thinking as a basic workplace skill was reinforced by a US Department of Labor commission report called the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). In this report they named three fundamental skills: 1. Basic Skills, which include reading, writing, arithmetic and mathe-matics, speaking and listening; 2. Personal Qualities, which include responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity and 3. Thinking Skills such as thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind’s eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning. Since 2005, I have presented course material to graduate students that challenge them to apply advanced strategies for leading small groups through the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process, precisely the thinking skills as outlined by SCANS.

The CPS process is a challenging one to master when applying it for the first time to a group working on an ill-defined or a reoc-curring challenge. As part of their assignments, students in my class were expected to find a group and facilitate them through a CPS session. On many occasions, before the service-learning integration, it was difficult for my students to locate a group that can simulate a real world experience. For example, the challenges that were addressed were sometimes algorithmic.

That is, the challenges have only one pathway to a solution. In short, the challenges were not fit for CPS or sufficiently challenging for them to fully appreciate the value of CPS. Moreover, I wanted to provide class assignments that would help them recognize the power of CPS to foster breakthrough thinking and to show them the itera-tive nature of this process. Subsequently, I began exploring ways in which I can expose my students to more challenging facilitation as-signments.

The chance I was looking for came while involved in a conversation with a colleague. She described her experiences with service-learning. At the time she taught a CRS 303 Creative Leadership course. Her undergraduate class ran ideation sessions for the Asarese-Matters Community Center. I was impressed and moved at the energy this class demonstrated as they debriefed their experiences. It was this observation that compelled me to act upon my colleague’s suggestion to pursue a VSLC Community Service Faculty fellowship.

I was awarded a fellowship. My first task involved attending a ser-vice learning orientation hosted by the Volunteer Service-Learning Center (VSLC). What made this orientation special was the personal and tailored support that I received to prepare me for a successful delivery of a service-learning course. For example, I was provided with curriculum samples, a presentation on diversity issues, one-one-one coaching, and community partner networking. This support did not stop there.

Continued on Page 5

Snapshots of Service-Learning

Page 4 VSLC Exchange

Creative Studies students from CRS 303 hosted a basketball tournament at

the Asarese-Matters Community Center. Honor students from HON 301 sponsored a warm clothing drive for

local refugee families.

Michael Cleveland Hill receives the “Give to Get” advertising portfolio from

John Logal and his group members from BUS 327.

AED 200 students worked with youth making arts and crafts projects at

area after school art programs. Students from HTR 380 tutored and mentored individuals from the

College Based Transition Program.

Service-Learning: Perspectives cont’d

Each of my post orientation requests and questions were met with a quick and helpful reply. I received emotional support. I was pro-vided guidance to help me think through some curriculum issues. My students also received an orientation. In short, I was engulfed with support, which in affect made the transition to a new peda-gogical approach less stressful and more open.

A watershed moment involved one of my community partners, who dropped out at the last moment leaving two of my graduate stu-dents in straits. The VSLC staff was quick to provide a replacement community partner so that my students would not lose out on a learning experience. When my two graduate students determined that this new community partner was not a fit for their assignment, namely that she expected my students to engage in a one-year as-signment, we were once again placed in straits. And once again, the VSLC staff was able to find a replacement.

Service-learning provided me a pathway to increase academic rigor. It intensified and enriched my students’ learning. Class discussions were easy to conduct. In fact, each discussion would last on aver-age 2½ hours! My students were thankful for these discussions be-cause they picked up best practice ideas from their classmates and they learned from each others’ mistakes, which prepared them for the next round of classroom assignments. They found that to be a huge relief.

Another by-product of service-learning was an appreciation for differences. My graduate students learned about the personal and professional lives of individuals earmarked by trying life biogra-phies. As such, this new found awareness bonded them with their community partners. One community partner referred to me and my students as family.

Another benefit of service-learning was the ease it offers to build classroom climate and community. My class became one. There was a genuine sense of belonging. For example, on the last day of class, our goodbyes were filled with embraces. I think pedagogically, service-learning builds the confidence in my students to go out and facilitate Creative Problem Solving in a group setting; that put them ahead of their counterparts who did not receive a service-learning experience. In short, they are more seasoned and skilled. It also shortens their learning curves. From a bottom line perspective, service-learning makes a business case. That is, my students be-come additional Buffalo State College ambassadors who deliver word-of-mouth public relations. I think from a humaneness per-spective, service learning cultivates open hearts, open minds, and open doors.

My students also reported how critical pre-planning was to an effective facilitation. They learned to ask more questions and to refuse moving forward without the necessary data to understand the task. They learned to overcome hesitancy in telling a community partner that effective CPS sessions occur within certain parameters that need to be respected, that anything less may jeopardize the outcome. They learned the importance of soliciting more feedback from resource group members and community partners. They learned that working with others is usually difficult in the beginning. They pushed each other to reach for higher standards and that this press can sometimes annoy others but with sustainability, it can develop into a healthy group dynamic.

One student commented the following:

There are no words to describe how amazing this experience has been. Service-learning is just what is needed for practical subject matters. From start to finish, I was full of anxiety, but it helped me to learn to cope in situations that are real and in no way simulated. My preparation was real. It was not an option to go into the meeting unprepared. I had to do my home work. I am not certain that I would have done as much research if it had been a simulated ses-sion. There would have been no reason to. My commitment to the process was real. I tried very hard to be in the process as opposed to the con-tent, but that did not diminish my commitment to helping my client meet his expectations for the session. In reality, it helped me insure that they were met. I was not bogged down with emotional sides of the challenge or issues and I could use all my brain power and energy to focus on the task at hand.

To date, my CRS 610 course has four community partners: the Urban Community Corporation, Broadway Market Tenants Association, We Care East Side Community Block Club, and Concerned Ecumenical Ministry Senior Center. Below is a partial listing of our accomplishments.

Creative Studies Students Community Impact for the Fall 2007

Senior Center found novel ideas to attract seniors to the Center.

Provided a director with role clarification and structure involving her newly appointed position.

Facilitated a town-hall like meeting to explore the reasons the community were more sensitive to environment issues.

Identified curriculum options and ways to protect its intellectual property.

Board members were provided a CPS orientation and a brief

of the session results.

Each student completed at least 20 hours of service-learning.

Over 250 hours of service-learning was documented for this semester. There were 12 students enrolled in this class.

From a practical sense, this experience reinforced what I already knew about preparing students for their respective careers. That is, we learn best from hands-on experiences--I just didn’t have the full means to promote these experiences for my students. I think in any field of endeavor we get better in our work by seeing what is expected and then doing it in real life. Service-learning provides these opportunities. To make service-learning work however, at least in my case, full immersion is required; my students reported that my availability to watch them perform and to jump in when required, coupled with robust feedback, were important elements to their learning.

Page 5 VSLC Exchange

Service-Learning: Perspectives cont’d A Student’s Perspective

By Ray Kieser

BSC Student, May 2009

From a student’s perspective, I see service-learning as an important segment in obtaining the true authentic facilities needed in many fields. After completing my service-learning volunteer requirements for SWK 319 Dynamics of Poverty, I have made an additional commitment to continue volunteering for the Little Portion Friary, a homeless shelter located in the inner city of Buffalo. A world of understanding and education is brought forth by observing and helping to fulfill the needs of many people that circulate through the shelter. The Friary, rooms and boards up to eighteen men and eight women for approximately a thirty day stay. Volunteers acquire a significant factual understanding of the properties of homelessness.

Lectures and text books lay down well established concepts, and good outlines but, do not give an inclusive value experience. Participation through volunteering and becoming part of the community where you are working is vital to understanding how the true dynamics of the homeless community thinks, acts, and feels. I have learned that you need to empathetically pay attention and identify what the real situation is, as opposed to what anecdotal information would lead you to believe.

Homeless people are forced to endure continuous defeat and hopelessness by the stigma created by their surrounding environment. Discounting the stigma and creating one’s own personal perspective of being homeless ends the defeatist attitude and develops a sense of hope rather than hopelessness. Creating needed change is essential to moving forward i.e., turn the hopelessness into a positive possibility of success rather than anticipating defeat.

I learned that it really takes more than band-aids such as bringing people off the streets. Giving them a warm meal, clean bed, and clean clothes to jumpstart them back into an acceptable lasting living environment is not enough. Most help that is rendered to the poor is temporary, often resulting in a catch 22, after the band-aid falls off or their temporary aid or benefits are ex-hausted. Volunteering my efforts is not only beneficial to my education but a true feeling of accomplishment when the day is done.

The affiliation of community and service-learning is an obliging endearing experience for each and everyone. If only but a few individuals come to learn that a positive perspective manifests hope which creates positive change, the occurrence is not only worthwhile, but gratifying and contagious as well. If good grades and high GPA’s arouse a good mind-set of accomplishment, a dedicated service-learning experience will bring feelings to a whole new level. Service-learning creates a feeling of accomplishment and a well grounded field experience that is crucial to becoming a professional in any given field.

VSLC Exchange Page 6

A Community Partner’s Perspective

By Anne Harrington

Program Coordinator, Loaves and Fishes Dining Hall

Loaves & Fishes is a free lunch program serving the underprivileged on the Upper West Side of Buffalo. Open every Monday through Friday from 11:30-12:30, we’re located at 875 Elmwood Avenue in the basement of Lafayette Church. On average we serve between 120 - 150 people each day, more at certain times of the year or certain times of the month. Last year we served more than 31,000 meals.

Our goal is to service the needs of our guests as we find them and to try to provide access to other services that might help them get back on their feet. To that end we serve as an outreach location for several human service programs including Crisis Services, Neighborhood Legal Services, the Veterans’ Homeless Outreach Program, HIV/AIDs education and others. In fact, about 2/3 of the people we see each year are able to help themselves enough to need our services less often or not at all.

We are an official job training site for the Buffalo Public Schools’ Occupational Training Center and serve as a work site for many who need to satisfy a community service requirement for the C.O.U.R.T.S. Program, drug and alcohol treatment programs and several educational institutions including Buffalo State College.

Students from Buffalo State College have been performing community service at Loaves & Fishes for many years; for the past several years we have participated in the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center’s service-learning program, which has been enormously successful for us and hopefully for the students as well. While students help with the everyday chores such as setup, food preparation and service, and cleanup, they also participate in many other ways.

They have recorded the life stories of our guests, organized our storage areas, taken charge of decorating for different seasons and holidays, helped to distribute excess food, developed and implemented surveys and assisted at our pantry on the weekends. Students have organized food and clothing drives and recently have helped to organize and categorize our new library/reading room. Social Work students have been able to interview clients, do intake for food pantries and, with supervision, take on some of the duties of the Program Coordinator.

Since we have only two paid staff members at Loaves & Fishes, volunteers are a vital part of our program. Buffalo State College, through the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, is one of our most important partners in the effort to improve the quality of life for residents of Buffalo’s West Side.

Service-learning students

lend a helping hand at Loaves

and Fishes Dining Hall.

Page 7 VSLC Exchange

VSLC Bulletin Board

Faculty Announcements

Join the growing number of BSC faculty involved with service-learning! Applications are now being accepted for the 2008-2009 Community Service Faculty Fellowship Program with the Buffalo State College Volunteer and Service-Learning Center (VSLC). Faculty fellows receive a $1000 stipend, service-learning course and conversion training, resources to assist with service-learning course development, and support from VSLC staff through the implementation of the course. Fellows are open to all faculty, from any department on the Buffalo State College campus. Applications are online at http://www.buffalostate.edu/offices/cdc/vslc/fellowships.html The Application deadline is April 1, 2008! Do you have questions, or would you like more information? Please contact Laura Hill Rao in the VSLC (878-5811, HillLA@buffalostate.edu), or Dr. Gary Welborn, Associate Professor, Sociology (878-6428, welborgs@buffalostate.edu).

Student Announcements

Students, Want to Get Involved?

The following are sample volunteer opportunities posted on ORCA. Please visit www.buffalostate.edu/offices/cdc/vslc to view these and more.

Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens Position: Volunteers are needed to help water, prune

and weed gardens. Training and scheduling can be flexible to accommodate student schedules.

Contact: Nancy Kalieta Phone: (716) 827-1584 ext. 207

Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped Inc. (SABAH) Position: Volunteers take part in numerous activities on and off the ice by teaching and encouraging SABAH skaters Contact: Kelly Mazella Phone: (716) 362-9600 Website: www.sabahinc.org

Community Partner Announcements

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center offers partner agencies the opportunity to set-up information tables in the Campbell Student Union for volunteer recruitment. Tables are available Monday-Friday from 11:00am- 1:30pm, space is very limited. If you would like to reserve an information table, please contact Susannah White at whitesl@buffalostate.edu to inquire about available dates.

Do you have a volunteer opportunity to share with Buffalo State College students? The VSLC posts all volunteer opportunities for students using the Career Development Center’s, Online Resource for Career Advancement (ORCA).

To list your opportunity easily and quickly, simply login to ORCA as an employer through the VSLC website, www.buffalostate.edu/offices/cdc/vslc. Click on "Add/Review/Edit postings". If you are new to ORCA, you can request a username and password by filling out the Employer Request Form available on the site. Or, if you prefer, you can email or fax the position to the VSLC and we will post it for you on ORCA.

Thank you for considering a Buffalo State College student!

Buffalo State College Earth Day

Great American Clean-Up

Saturday, April 19, 2008

8:30am-12:00pm

Register with the Volunteer and Service-Learning

Center at

716-878-5811

vslc@buffalostate.edu

Meet on April 19: 8:30am

Science Building Lobby

Page 8 VSLC Exchange

VSLC Bulletin Board cont’d Service-Learning Classes Spring 2008

Course Title Instructor Community Partner's Description

Business

BUS 327 Advertising Concepts & Practices

McFarland, Diane We Care, UNYTS, Taste of Diversity, SB 3, New Life Residential Center, West Side Ministries, Consumer Credit, Alzheimer’s Assoc, North Tonawanda History Museum

Students will develop a marketing and advertising plan(s) for area organizations.

Communication

COM 389 TV Doc & Production

Knowles, Meg McKinley High School– VIP Community Based Program

Students will create an informational video that raises awareness about individuals with disabilities and the importance of social inclusion.

COM 405 News Reporting

COM 308W Public Relation Writing

COM 301 Principles of Public Relations & Advertising

Marren, Joseph

Silverman, Deborah

Community reporting on the west-side of Buffalo

First Hand Learning, Kids Escaping Drugs, Morlock Foundation, UNYTS, American Red Cross, Journey’s End Refugee Services, Planned Parenthood

Students will document and write a series of articles detailing comm. events & issues on the west-side of Buffalo.

Students will develop a complete PR portfolio, and present their finalized project to partner agencies.

Creative Studies

CRS 302 Creative Approaches to Problem Solving

Yudess, Jo Asarese-Matters Community Center, CEM STAR After School Program

Students have the option of teaching workshops to youth on problem solving skills.

Dance

DAN 401 Teaching Dance

Guarino, Joy

School 30, Campus West, Asarese- Matters Community Center

Students will organize & instruct a series of 4 dance classes for area youth.

Elementary Education & Reading

EDU 310W Teaching Social Studies to Students

Bailey, Mary Hope Refugee Services, Cornerstone Manor

Students will work with elementary students on assessment of needs, ESL, and tutoring.

EDU 329 Integrated Thematic Instruction for Young Children

McLeish, Wendy Buffalo Museum of Science

Students will design family literacy activities, create science kits, and work 1:1 with students in the classroom.

EDU 211 Intro to Literacy

Sacks, Harriet

EVCS, School 30 Students complete 10 hours of literacy tutoring for elementary grade students.

English

ENG 354 W Ethnic American Literature

Bontempo, Barbara

Hope, Journey’s End Refugee Services, 1st Methodist Church, Project Flight

Students will participate in related activities, gaining experience with constituents from diverse cultural backgrounds.

ENG 200 Field Experience in Sec. English Education

Harris-Tigg, Theresa

Buffalo Public Schools Student teams will work with Buffalo Public School Administrators to develop a project that will address issues or concerns regarding adolescent literacy.

ENG 354 Ethnic American Literature

Kelley, Elizabethe Mirage School District Students will partner with the Mirage School district in Arizona to build an interactive website that will document poems, and writing of special education students.

Page 9 VSLC Exchange

VSLC Bulletin Board cont’d Service-Learning Classes Spring 2008

Course Title Instructor Community Partner's Description

Exceptional Education

EXED 245 Community Service with Individuals with specific needs

Meger, Michaelene

Various Agencies

Students will be working with various community agencies who assist individuals with disabilities.

Geography

GEG 428 Environmental

Assess. & Planning

Application in GIS

Tang, Tao

United Way, West Side Community Collaborative

Students will analyze and apply GIS techniques by collecting relevant community data and create maps documenting the information.

History & Social Studies

HIS 379 Museum & Civic Engagement

Cinquino, David

Carrousel Museum, Amherst Museum, Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy, Explore & More, Studio Arena.

Students will complete service-learning projects for WNY museums and cultural institutions.

Hospitality & Tourism

HTR 300 Food & Beverage Management

Burgeson, Stephen

Loaves & Fishes, Response to Love

Students are organizing food and beverage service for special events in the community.

HTR 380 Advanced Training in Hospitality

Till, Lori Baker Victory, Statler Center, Canisius YALT, CAPP

Students tutor and mentor individuals with disabilities.

Political Science

PSC 389 Democracy & Peace: McGovern, Patrick

West Side Community Collaborative, Coalition for Economic Justice

Students will apply political theory to practice by working with community outreach initiatives in reference to housing, diversity and voting.

Social Work

SWK 319 Dynamics of Poverty Aviles, Christopher

Various Students complete 20 hours of service with an agency of their choosing which serves underprivileged populations.

SWK 308 Human Behavior & the Social Env, II

SWK 424W Interv. Methods III

Hilarski, Carolyn,

1st Methodist Church, Shiller Park Senior Center, Niagara Lutheran, Salvation Army, Asarese-Matters Community Center , CEM-STAR Program, Crucial Community Center

Students participate in individual projects at the discretion of the agency focusing on the needs of the elderly populations they serve.

Students are to prepare at the request of the agency, three presentations on a topic related to social work.

Sociology

SOC 486 Sociology Practicum in Applied Sociology

SOC 312 Women in Society

Welborn, Gary

Holleran, Beth

Asarese-Matters Community Center, Loaves & Fishes

Various Agencies

Students plan and implement community building activities working with refugee populations to assist in the resettlement process.

Students will work with various community programs dedicated to assisting women.

Student Personnel Administration

CSP 689 Methods & Tech of Educational Research

Kline, Kimberly Belle Center, Newman Center, College Based Transition Program, Volunteer and Service-Learning Center

Graduate students are conducting needs assessments, learning outcomes, and program satisfaction for agencies.

Page 10 VSLC Exchange

The VSLC Exchange is a regular publication of the

Buffalo State College Volunteer and Service-Learning

Center, keeping the campus and community informed!

Giving Big...

Gaining Big…

Learn through Serving!

About the Center

Volunteer and Service-Learning Center

Buffalo State College

Cleveland 306, 1300 Elmwood Avenue

Buffalo, New York 14222

Stop by or contact us!

Email: VSLC@buffalostate.edu

Call: (716) 878-5811

Staff

Laura Hill Rao, Coordinator

Meghan Harmon, Associate

Susannah White, Associate

Josephine Zagarella, Associate

Patricia Dunlop, Administrative Assistant

Marchon Hamilton II, Graduate Assistant

Thomas Ashby. VISTA Youth Outreach

Coordinator

Faculty Services

Support in identifying community projects and

partnerships.

Coordinate service-learning student placements,

scheduling, and transportation.

Community Services

Develop service-learning projects with Buffalo State

College faculty to support the needs and services of your

organization.

Post volunteer opportunities for one-time, short-term or

ongoing projects.

Student Services

Connect student groups and individuals with volunteer

opportunities.

Assist students looking to identify and enroll in service-

learning courses.

Organize activities and events to promote student

involvement in the Western New York community.

Editor/Contributor

Laura Hill Rao

&

Josephine Zagarella

Contributor

Susannah White