Types of Service   short-term  |  ongoing school year  |  summer

short-term

•  Service Saturday :
  • A local community service experience organized one Saturday a month. A group of 10-15 students work together on a service project while learning about a local non-profit organization. Following the service project, the group discusses the experience over a meal. Projects have included working in shelters, food banks, poverty assistance centers and a community garden.
• Alternative Breaks : 
  • During fall and spring break, groups of students take part in short-term, alternative break service projects. Each trip is lead by two student leaders and focuses on a different social issue. Students return to campus and partake in a reflection session to share their experiences with the campus community. In 2008-2009, trips that were related to homelessness and hunger issues included:

    • National Coalition for the Homeless (Urban Plunge) / Washington D.C.

      • Students underwent training and spent an intensive two-day experience living as homeless people in Washington D.C.

    • Mountain Housing Opportunities / Ashville, NC

      • Students assisted community partner in building and installing handicapped-accessible ramps for low-income, rural homeowners

    • Big Creek People in Action / Caretta, WV

      • Students worked with and learned from citizens of the Appalachian region. Students stripped wallpaper, prepped and painted walls and a staircase.

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• Other one-time or short-term projects and events this year have included:
  • Solidarity Sleep Out
  • Habitat for Humanity: ACT, SPEAK, BUILD week
  • Beans and Rice Interactive Dinner: Enjoyed a simple meal while learning about the distribution of resources across the globe

on-going school year

• United Community Action : 
  • UCA is a student-governing organization for student-run service groups that offer events and direct service opportunities for the campus community in partnership with local non-profit organizations. Some of the student groups that focus on homelessness and housing include:
    • Urban Ministry Center 
    • Habitat for Humanity
    • HAMMERS (Hands Around Mecklenburg/Mooresville Making Emergency Repairs Safely)
• Davidson Farmer's Market

summer

• CARE Internships
• Davidson Farmer's Market Internship

Academic Work   courses  |  service-learning  |  CBR and policy research   |  departments and institutes

courses

• Anthropology 267: "Food and Culture"
• Sociology 250: "Inequity in America"
• Sociology 384: "Poverty and Policy"
• Political Science 324: "Philanthropy and the Non-Profit Sector" 

Education & Training   forums  |  workshops  |  reflection activities

•   Building Skills for Social Change:
  • Workshop series for non-profit professionals, students, faculty and staff intended to build the capacities of our non-profit and community organizations and to provide networking opportunities across organizations.
• Poverty/homelessness/hunger simulations

Campus and Organizational Capacity-Building   training  |  fundraising  |  resource development

Research, Policy Analysis, Deliberative Democracy   evaluations  |  policy research  | issue forums  |  advocacy

Contacts   staff  |  faculty  |  students  |  community partners (local, regional, national)