For this insights project, you may research and document the community service organization in which you currently participate. If you are not currently participating in any form of community service/volunteerism, you may research and document a service organization preferably within your community of residence.
Objectives:
At the completion of this portfolio component, the student shall be able to:
Define and compare/contrast volunteerism and community service.
Describe the motivations for volunteering.
Describe how volunteerism enhances a person’s networking skills.
Describe how volunteerism can help develop employable skills.
Describe how volunteerism meets the needs of a community.
Understand an organization’s mission, vision, and its role in carrying out that mission.
Describe the functional roles and benefits of the Ivy Tech Alumni Association and Ivy Tech Foundation to current students and graduates through class discussion and guest speakers.
To document your research, you should prepare a typewritten double-spaced report with 1″ margins with your name on the report uploaded in the Class Sessions radio button by the due date listed in the course syllabus/schedule. At the final class meeting, a copy of this typewritten report shall be in place in Section Four tab of the portfolio. While there is no set minimum length of pages, the report body shall address all the points listed below. A grading rubric is attached that explains the overall expectations for the assignment, the criteria (arranged in levels of quality) that a student should meet for the assignment, and the points (grades) that the student can earn based on the levels. This rubric allows your instructor to evaluate assignments like this where there are several different components that need to be assessed to assign a grade for the report.
This report shall, at minimum, should include:
• Describe the definition and concept of volunteerism
• Differentiate between volunteerism and community service
• Describe who volunteers and for what motivations
• Assessment of your prior perception, current knowledge and thoughts on community service/volunteerism activities gained by completing the short verbal survey conducted in the first class session
• What is your personal philosophy of volunteer involvement?
• Name of service organization you researched to gain insight into community service/volunteerism
• Service organization background/history, mission, vision, and objectives
• Service event/opportunities description (volunteer opportunities), including if these roles are episodic roles, short-term roles, long-term roles, and/or virtual roles
• Is there a volunteer role description for the organization, if yes, please attach a copy of the role description if available
• Requirements of volunteers of the chosen organization you are writing on related to requirements for background checks, screening interviews, interest assessment, orientation/onboarding, travel, expenditures, clothing, or any other expenses incumbent with (required to be furnished by) the volunteer or required to volunteer with the organization. Also identify any barriers associated with volunteering with this organization.
• List and explain positive and negative aspects you perceived from your research, include, if possible, the percentage of donation of money that goes directly to the mission of the charity/organization (see web links below for more information on this aspect)
• Assess your personal readiness in volunteering or community service
• Self reflection including 1) significance of your learning about the organization, 2) how the experience has increased your awareness of the need for community service/volunteerism and 3) why is what you learned important to you and how it does or could improve the world and how it does or could improve your personal fulfillment as well as professional goals
• How volunteerism/community service can enhance networking skills for future employment or community relationship building
• Conclusion
• Contact information specific for the service organization and website information
• Please also appropriately cite any sources utilized in the report
The following are some websites that are great to look into that speaks to large charity organizations and rating of their stewardship of the donations. These may be very helpful to you both as a resource when you look into volunteerism, but also to be savvy in the donation of your hard-earned money as you decide to donate monetarily to an organization.
www.charitynavigator.org (Links to an external site.)
www.give.org (Links to an external site.)
Link (Links to an external site.) (Charity Ratings.org)
Below are some websites links and slide presentations that may be helpful as well in your insights into community service and volunteerism.