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Project Details
Created:
10/24/2008
Project Title:
Building Opportunities to Serve for Youth
Project Category:
Other
Project Status:
Proposal
CASE Competition
CASE Competition:
University of South Dakota - University of South Dakota
Grant Winner
Project Snapshot
Problem:
Solution:
Student Information
College or University:
University of South Dakota
State:
South Dakota
Student Name:
Social Work Practice II & Social Work Club
Year in College:
Senior
Major:
Social Work
Faculty Advisor
Advisor Name:
Community Partner
Partner Name:
John Lushbough,
Student and Community
What societal problem does your project solve?
The societal problem being addressed is hunger. The proposed project will address the issue of hunger while raising awareness and building opportunities for community youth to work towards the alleviation of hunger at the local level. The community partner, The Welcome Table, serves a Monday evening meal every week in the community of Vermillion. The proposed project will develop partnerships with existing youth groups in the community with the Welcome Table activities. The social work class and club will facilitate the development of the partnerships and assist youth in training other groups to host one of the weekly meals.What would be the measurable outcomes of the partnership that you propose to create between the community and your educational institution?
The measurable outcomes are:How many youth participate in the planned activities?
How many youth take a leadership role in training other youth for the Welcome Table meal?
How many youth engage in other community programs that provide relief from hunger?
What steps towards sustainability of the project are in place by may of 2009?
How would you, with the support of your faculty advisor on campus and some one from the community, work together around this specified community issue?
The project being proposed is part of the Social Work Practice II and Social Work Club service learning project for the spring semester of 2009. The students will assume the organizing, facilitating, and training roles. They will be working with members of the Welcome Table Board, existing Youth Group Leaders under the direction of the faculty advisor who also teaches the Practice II class.Students will be applying what they learn in the Practice II class and will be supervised by various Welcome Table volunteers who are familiar with community organizing. Their primary role is facilitation of cooperative partnerships between The Welcome Table and existing Youth Groups.
How would you envision sharing power and decision making in the partnership? In other words, instead of doing something for the community how would you do something with the community?
Practice II and club member students will act as facilitators. Their role is to encourage partnerships between youth groups and the Welcome Table. The students will provide the hands-on bridge between the existing community youth groups and the Welcome Table. The purpose of the project is to create partnerships between existing youth groups to increase youth’s awareness of hunger and skills in serving. It is the hope of the project that the partnerships between the youth groups and the Welcome Table will continue as a result of the project plan.How would you collect data on what the project was doing and use it in the decision making process?
The Practice II students will gather data from all groups invited to participate. They will record the membership size of the groups, their ages, sex of the members, volunteer activities of the group members and the extent of interest adults who work with the groups show for the Welcome Table meal. The Practice II class, once a youth group has committed, will also record how many of the group members follow-through in the training and meal event, their ages, sex, involvement of adult group leaders. The data collected help decide what type of groups may best match the activities of The Welcome Table.What would be the project activities? Give examples of how the strengths already existing in the community will be acknowledged, built upon, and enhanced in the partnership to solve the problem.
The Welcome Table is an established community activity supported by a number of community groups & organizations. It is built upon the ideals of community, and offers a time for all community members to share a meal together, in this way removing the potential stigma attached to those experiencing hunger. The degree of community support for the Welcome Table will be strengthened by recruiting community youth to be a group of support by hosting meals. The social work students will merely assist the youth. It is the hope of the social work students that a successful “go” at hosting a meal will lead to the recruitment of additional youth groups to host a meal, and continued involvement of youth groups in other community service activities.What obstacles or challenges might you encounter in implementing your project, and how would you address them?
The first challenge rests in recruitment of youth groups. There are a number of youth groups that the social work students are naturally connected to by virtue of living in Vermillion. The second challenge lie in follow through with hosting the meal. The social work students will have to equip themselves with effective motivational and organizational tools. They may need to coordinate transportation, create some competition and rewards to foster commitment from the youth.
Recruiting Volunteers:
Would you recruit additional student volunteers? If so, how?
Enlisting Partners:
Do you envision enlisting businesses, or other organizations, etc., to help; if so, how?
How would the award money be used here?
If your project idea is an innovation of an existing
program, what are its current funding sources?
What do you anticipate learning from engaging in the service project?
Social work students will learn how to reach across age and interest groups to build community service partnerships. They will learn how to facilitate community partnerships, work with youth, and plan weekly community meals. They will have created a practice model for youth group volunteerism and distribute the model for other groups to use.If the above questions have not enabled you to convey the essence and value of your project’s impact, use this space to supplement your answers.
Please submit an abstract (clear summary) of your proposed project idea.
The Social Work Practice II class, and the Social Work Club will partner with The Welcome Table to work with community youth. The proposed project will address the issue of hunger while building opportunities for community youth to work towards the alleviation of hunger at the local level. The community partner, The Welcome Table, serves a Monday evening meal every week in the community of Vermillion. The proposed project will develop partnerships with existing youth groups in the community with the Welcome Table activities. The social work class and club will facilitate the development of the partnerships and assist youth in training other groups to host one of the weekly meals.User Login
