community endeavors may 2010

May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 1

Volume 1 Issue 1

Community|EndeavorsMay 2010 For The STudenTS, By The STudenTS

2 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010


services learning events

What Is Learn and serve amerIca? .........................................................page 6

What Is servIce-LearnIng? ........................................................................page 8

features

voLunteerIng In amerIca ...............................................................................page 9

voLunteerIng In nevada .........................................................................page 11

opinions

servIce to the communIty as a voLunteer .............................. page 12

the Importance of gIvIng Back to our communIty ............. page 13

the Importance of voLunteerIng In our communIty ................... page 14

Why Is It Important to voLunteer ......................................... page 16

voLunteerIng Is an opportunIty of chance ............................................. page 17

campus life

my servIce Work at csn ................................................................................ page 19


Community Endeavors is a free publication that serves as a liaison for the various service learning concepts assigned by educators at the College of Southern nevada.

Enrollment by Age: Student Enrollment by Ethnicity: Under 18 505 1.2% African American 4,252 10.2% 18-19 3,961 9.5% Asian 4,511 10.8% 20-24 14,086 33.7% Caucasian 18,325 43.9% 25-29 8,066 19.3% Hawaiian/Pac Isl. 964 2.3% 30-34 4,645 11.1% Hispanic 9,358 22.4% 35-39 3,362 8.0% Native American 410 1.0% 40-49 4,231 10.1% Non-resident 2,357 5.6% 50-61 1,920 4.6% Unknown 3,943 9.4% 62 & above 680 1.6% Unknown 310 0.7%

Representation By Gender: Female: 21,021

Male: 20,745

total Student Population: 41,766

Source: CSN Institutional Research, 2008

***Digital Circulation: 41,766 ***

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What is Learn and Serve America?

America’s young people – from kindergartners to college stu-dents – have the desire, energy

and ability to make a real difference in their communities. Service-learning offers a unique opportunity for them to get involved in a tangible way by integrating community service projects with classroom learning. Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Students not only learn about democracy and citizenship, they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform.

Learn and Serve America supports and encour-ages service-learning

throughout the United States, and enables over one million students to make meaningful contributions to their community while building their aca-demic and civic skills. By engaging our na-tion’s young people in service-learning, Learn and Serve America in-stills an ethic of lifelong community service.Learn and Serve America provides direct and indi-rect support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects by: Providing grant support for school-community partnerships and higher education institutions;

Providing training and technical assistance resources to teachers,

administrators, parents, schools and community groups; and Collecting and disseminating research, effec-tive practices, curricula, and program models.

For more information visit:

www.learnandserve.gov


What is Service-Learning?

NEWS

Service-learning

offers a unique opportunity for America’s young people -- from kindergarten to college students -- to get involved with their communities in a tangible way by integrating service projects with class-room learning. Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Students not only learn about democracy and citizen-ship, they become actively contribut-ing citizens and community members through the service they perform.Service-learning can be applied across all subjects and grade levels; it can

involve a single

student or group of students, a classroom or an

entire school. Students build character and become active participants as they work with others in their school and community to create service projects in areas like education, public safety, and the environment.Why is Service-Learning Important?A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effec-tive service-learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school, and develop students’ personal and so-cial responsibility. A growing body of

research recognizes service-learning as an effective strategy to help students by: Promoting learning through ac-tive participation in service experiences; Providing structured time

for students to reflect by thinking, discussing and writing about their

service experience; Providing an opportunity for stu-dents to use skills and knowl-edge in real-life situations; Extending learning beyond the classroom and into the community; and Fostering a sense of caring for others.Service-learning also strength-ens both education and local

communities by: Building effective collaborative

partnerships between schools or colleges and other institutions and

organizations. Engaging parents and other

adults in supporting student learning Meeting community needs through he service projects conducted Providing engaging and pro-ductive opportunities for young people to work with others in their community

For more information visit:

www.learnandserve.gov

May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 9CONTINUES PAGE 10

Volunteering in America

America is seeing an increase in community service and volunteer efforts as the economy recovers

by FANTASI PRIDGON Editor-In-Chief

They say there is no way

a person can be truly

altruistic. That there

must be some ulterior motive driving

their selfless acts. That even the feeling

of accomplishment someone gets from

volunteering constitutes selfish return.

Their philosophy, that selfless acts

cannot exist, is one that will forever be

challenged.

American’s want to help. As our

economy continues to struggle, volun-

teering is actually on the rise, and the

statistics below showcase the presence

of community service in America.

According to volunteeringi-

namerica.gov, in 2008, 61.8 million

Americans or 26.4 percent of the adult

population contributed 8 billion hours

of volunteer service worth $162 billion.

The top ten states with the

highest volunteer rates are:

1. Utah

2. Nebraska

3. Minnesota

4. Alaska

5. Iowa

6. Montana

7. South Dakota

8. Kansas

9. Vermont

10. North Dakota

The volunteering rates across

America has held on during this tough

economic time. Between 2007 and 2008,

the number of volunteers increased

by about one million. Approximately

441,000 more young adults (age 16-

24) volunteered during the same time,

representing an increase from about 7.8

million to more than 8.2 million.

Community involvement has

seen a spike since 2007, with a 31 per-

cent increase in the number of people

who worked with their neighbors to fix

a problem in the neighborhood.

Volunteers are becoming even

more vital to America as the economy

continues to struggle. Between Septem-

ber 2008 and March 2009, more than a

third (37%) of nonprofit organizations

reported increasing the number of vol-

unteers they use, and almost half (48%)

foresee increasing their usage of volun-

teers in the coming year. Most nonprofit

organizations are not seeing a decrease


CONTINUES FROM PAGE 9

FEATURES

in

their vol-

unteer usage.

The frontruner state Utah has

43.5% of its residents volunteering in

Religious, Educational, Social Service,

Health, Civic, Sports, and Arts areas,

contributing 150.3 million hours of

service, which amounts to 3 billion.

College students have made

more of an impact than the general

adult population. According to nation-

alservice.gov, in 2005, approximately

30.2 percent of college students vol-

unteered, exceeding the volunteer rate

for the general adult population of 28.8

percent. The growth rate of college

student volunteers (approximately

20%) is more than double

the growth rate of all

adult volunteers

(9%). College

students are

more likely to

be episodic

volunteers,

while the

general popula-

tion is more steady

in their volunteering

activities.

To learn more about volunteer-

ing in America, and opportunities in

your area, visit volunteerinamerica.gov

and nationalservice.gov.


FEATURES

Volunteering in nevadaby ASHTON HALL Managing Editor

Nevada’s ranking in volunteering lacks something to be desired,

to say the least. Only a meek 18.8% of Nevadan’s volunteer, landing us in fifti-eth place among the fifty states. Dur-ing the year of 2008, 21.4% of adults in Nevada volunteered and donated 62.7 million hours of service. In addition to the 21.4% of adults who volunteered in

Nevada in 2008 an extra 64,189 indi-viduals worked with their neighbors to amend

some conditions of their community, but did not do so through an organi-zation. In Nevada, more than 3,700 people engage in national service each year 19 through 45 projects and organizations 19.1% of whom are college students. This year, the Corporation for National and Com-

munity Service will commit more than $5,600,000 in order to support Nevada’s national service vitality.

If you feel like you’d like to do your community some justice, but don’t know where to start here are some websites that might help give you some direction.

http://www.volunteercentersn.org/HomePage/index.php/home.html

http://www.springspreserve.org/support/volunteer.html

http://www.habitatlasvegas.org/site/About_Habitat.htm

“you make a living by what you get, but you

make a life by what you give.”

-Winston Churchill


Service to the Community as a Volunteer

Some people spend an en-tire lifetime not knowing what it means to give of

oneself. The notion that a selfless act is what others should do for the commu-nity is as selfish as one can be.

Merriam-Webster Online defines vol-unteerism as the act or practice of do-ing volunteer work in community service (2010). Volunteering one’s time or do-nating food or clothing for the better-ment of the community is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.

In the hour I spent at Three

Square I was first assigned to the volun-

teer room supervisor who in turn led me

through the storage facility that holds

food and household products that will

eventually find their way to the “Food

Store”. The set up and sheer number

of pallets on the shelves was no differ-

ent than that of a Sam’s Club or Costco.

Upon being assigned to the Food Store

manager I was given a short welcome

aboard and description of how I would

spend my time volunteering. I imme-

diately began my first task of discarding

cardboard boxes for recycle and returning

bread trays for pick up. Upon complet-

ing that task I was then asked to repair

an access door that had been damaged by

a hand cart. The damage was moderate

but just a few minutes later and with the

use of some crude supplies, the door was

once again functional. I completed by

assignment at Three Square by sweeping

the vast warehouse.

While the tasks assigned to me

were menial, I feel it aided the staff to

concentrate on getting their assignments

complete. I later was told by the Food

Store supervisor that six major food dis-

tribution organizations are scheduled to

pick up food and supplies every hour of

the day. By volunteering I saw the impor-

tance of what Three Square and so many

more organizations provide on a daily

basis. The importance of volunteering is

not a check in the block for extra credit

nor is it completing a court ordered sen-

tence. The importance is knowing that

there is a child who will have something

to eat today; that a family will be clothed

or that assistance is there for utilities.

While there are still those who

do not know what it means to give of

oneself, the community is better because

there is volunteerism. For it is in the

words of Ralph Waldo Emerson that

sums up what volunteering means to me,

“It is one of the most beautiful compen-

sations of this life that no man can sin-

cerely try to help another without help-

ing himself ” (1841).

by LAWRENCE ARMENDARIZ Contributing Writer


OPINIONS

Our community

gives so much to us

and we take it for

granted nearly all of the time. Without

the hard work of those who sacrifice so

much time and effort to our community,

we would be at a huge loss. Because we

are going through a recession it is that

much more important for us to give

back to our community and help others

out. You never know when you could

be in the other person’s shoes and need

that same help back. It is so easy to get

involved that there should be no excuse

not to help. A simple bag of old cloth-

ing that doesn’t fit anymore could be all

it takes to make a difference in someone

else’s life. If we can learn to help each

other out, and lean on each other in

times of need, we will grow as a people

and be much stronger.

The Importance of Giving Back to Our Community

by KAYLA ASTON Contributing Writer


The Importance of Volunteering in our Community

I believe it’s a very important

for young college students

to start volunteering. Hav-

ing students volunteer is good for both

our community and the student. Our

community is always in great need of

volunteers and students should start

getting involved. Students can gain

experience from volunteering and the

community can get the help they need

if students volunteer. Students that are

looking for a job or are planning to ap-

ply to more prestigious universities can

benefit from volunteering by including

it in their resume. Volunteering will not

only look good on their resume but also

make them feel good about themselves.

Most of the organizations

around our community are nonprofit,

which means they mostly depend on

by MELISSA ARGUETA Contributing Writer


volunteers to continue offering services.

If we as students don’t start volunteering,

many of these organizations or pro-

grams will eventually be gone. We must

consider that a lot of these services are

beneficial for the well being of our com-

munity. They can help us with our edu-

cation, pets, and health

along with numerous

other things. They help

the homeless, people

with different illnesses,

single parents, and

people looking for

jobs and so on. It’s time for everyone to

put a little of their part to help out our

community.

I personally have been volun-

teering in numerous places since I was

eleven, from a local museum to a home-

less shelter. It has made me appreciate

all I have and made me feel very good

about myself. Schools should encour-

age students to volunteer by offering

students different options as assign-

ments. Schools should provide research

assignments on volunteering, and have

students actually

volunteer as part

of the assign-

ment. Teacher

should also

offer extra credit

assignments

that encourage students to volunteer. It’s

an amazing feeling to know you have

helped someone, even if it’s just putting

a smile in their face. I’m sure that once

students have experienced the feeling of

volunteering they would want to do it

again.

Collegiate ReviewFor The Students,By The Students

Editor-in-ChiefFantasi Pridgon

managing Editor Ashton Hall

Copy EditorT. Ropelato

Fashion & Beauty EditorOlga Vizcarra

Chief Graphic DesignerYomaira Sotelo

GraphicsJuan Candelaria

Danial Adair

WebmasterDarin McKinney

Chief PhotographerMayela Arellano

PhotographyMary-Anne Colt

AdvertisingPriscilla Edison

Faculty AdvisorA.B.

Comments or Questions: Please Call 651-4521

Visit us at: www.thecollegiatereview.com

ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE

PRESS


There is no greater gift then the gift of giving. This week we had an assignment to donate or

volunteer at a local organization. Donat-ing or volunteering in your commu-

nity is importantbecause it helps many

people who are in need. It is always

good to give back to one’s com-

munity. Just by a simple gesture of lending a hand one can help make this world a betterplace.

I con-tributed to my

community by donating to two

organizations. With summer right around

the corner, people are in need of water. I donated ten

cases of bottled water and ten cansof soup to Safe Nest, which is a shelter

for abused women and children. I also went to the Good Will and donated three big bags of women clothing, men clothing, children’s clothing and toys.The Good Will provides jobs for people and sells inexpensive clothes, toys, fur-niture andelectronics to lower income families. After participating in this

assignment, my husband and I have decided to either donate or volunteer at a different organization every week to give back to our community. It was one of the most gratifying feelings I’ve had in a long time. We have taken our two boys with us to teach them that helping out others in need is what we need to do in order to help our community. Ourchildren will eventually learn the value of life and how to appreciate what they have.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO VOLUNTEER IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

by RACHEL SOTO Contributing Writer

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VOLUNTEERING IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF CHANCE


OPINIONS

VOLUNTEERING IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF CHANCE

by KYLE TINSLEY Contributing Writer

Volunteering is an oppor-tunity that most people do not take advantage

of. Sometimes it is because people do not have the time or some people have misconceptions about what it would be like in a place you can “volunteer”. Throughout my life I have volunteered at all sorts of places that have given back to me more than could have ever have imagined. Whether it was thehomeless shelter in Atlanta, the home for battered women in California or the food pantry in St.

Louis, volunteering has given me an outlook on life that most people cannot understand. Over the years I have come up with a few reasons why someone should volunteer in their community. Vol-unteering helps you gain professional experience, it promotes personal growth,and it improves self esteem. Someone who volunteers can learn numerous things about ones self, the government and the community where they live. Most importantly, the reason that Ifind most satisfying, is the chance to

make a difference where I live. Not everyone can say that they have touched someone else’s life, but I can; Not by having a job, not by paying my bills,and not by being a good student. Countless people before me have done those very things without having an impact in the world where they live. I changed lives by taking time out of my life to give back to a community that I am a part of. Not to make the world a better place, but to make my little bubble in the world a better place to be.


My Service work at CSN

I would like to share my expe-rience during my ALS 101 class involving the service

work that was part of our homework. A

little about me first; My name is Susan but everyone calls me Kodi. It’s been thirty five years since I left high school in the 10th grade. I’m proud of you guys because if your reading this that means obviously that you either graduated high school or had the courage to apply yourself for your G.E.D. I lost my job so I did the foot work necessary to be able to attend college which is the best thing I have done in my life. I never dreamed that I would be here where you are today. The younger students give me so much energy! The Service work that I did for my ALS class was awesome!

I went to Hinman Elementary School and volunteered to work the

carnival. One of the teachers had me put some sticks on the fans that would be prizes for the carnival game booths. When I finished with those I went to the kitchen and volunteered to prepare the hot dogs and nachos when the carnival started. I had more fun seeing those kids have so much fun and espe-cially glad that I was able to be a part of it. I also went to the school a week later and read to the students. That was so fulfilling and I will continue every year to do this. Good luck and enjoy!

by SUSAN THURMOND Contributing Writer

N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y ®

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community endeavors may 2010

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