KU Center for Service Learning

This weekend, CSL graduate assistant Doyinsola Ogunremi graduated with her master's degree in Higher Education Administration from KU's School of Education and Human Sciences!

Congratulations, Doyinsola, and thank you for your support of the Center for Service Learning over the last two years!

The CSL is excited to share our application for two faculty fellow positions! These fellow roles are multi-year opportunities for tenure-track or career/specialty faculty. One faculty fellow positions will be focused on service-learning course development and instruction initiatives, while the other will support civic engagement programming and institutionalization projects.

View CSL Faculty Fellow Position Descriptions: https://buff.ly/4bv5Stq

Priority application deadline is May 31! Email CSL Program Manager Kate at [email protected] with any questions.

The Center for Service Learning is currently accepting applications for our AmeriCorps VISTA position for the 24-25 year. AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program, and our member will serve a full-time, yearlong term supporting economic opportunity programs.

If you are a graduating senior or recent college graduate with an interest in service, this might be a great role for you!

View the VISTA position description: https://buff.ly/4bv5Stq and apply by sending an updated resume and cover letter to our program manager Kate at [email protected].

KU's Student United Way has built some valuable connections this year, including with Student Housing and the United Way of Kaw Valley's Youth Service Coalition! SUW members supported a Hungry for the Holidays Food Drive this fall, which placed bins in campus residence halls to collect food products for Just Food.

KU Alternative Breaks sent 27 students on weeklong service trip this year! Winter Break students travelled to Detroit, while spring break students travelled to Minneapolis, St. Louis, and rural Colorado.

Learn more about Alternative Breaks at kuab.org.

Allison Monteleone is a sophomore studying Social Work. This winter, she participated in an Alternative Break to Detroit, Michigan to serve with Focus: Hope. Focus: Hope is a community nonprofit focused on fighting poverty, racism, and injustice through a variety of programs and initiatives.

This Alternative Break has been Allison's favorite service experience during her time at KU so far. She shared, "I was able to see the difference I was making but also to be humbled by the fact that there is so much more work to be done, and how my privilege continues to contribute to these issues."

The KU Center for Community Outreach has had a huge year. Since the start of the semester, the organization has logged over 6500 hours of KU student volunteer service, with more to come! This week is their annual Into the Streets Week, which includes a ton of service and advocacy-related events throughout this week. Visit https://buff.ly/3UuqFYi for more information about ITSW activities!

Jaden Huehl is a freshman studying Secondary English Education and Journalism. This winter, she participated in an Alternative Break to Detroit, Michigan to serve with Focus: Hope. Focus: Hope is a community nonprofit focused on fighting poverty, racism, and injustice through a variety of programs and initiatives.

This Alternative Break has been Jaden's favorite service experience during her time at KU so far. She shared, "I learned the importance of advocacy paired with service to make lasting change. I also learned how to value communication, making sure to have an active dialogue with all parties involved with every service project."

Earlier this spring, five members of our KU community travelled to Nacogdoches, Texas to participate in and present at the IMPACT Conference. We can't wait for IMPACT 2025!

Ariana Siddique is a sophomore studying Microbiology. This year, she has served in the CSL's Student Community Action Corps on behalf of LEAD UP, a college readiness program within the KU Center for Community Health and Development's ThrYve youth violence prevention program.

Ariana's favorite service-related experience during her time at KU is traveling to Texas this February to present about LEAD UP at the IMPACT Conference. She shared, "I had an opportunity to network and utilize the skills I have learned through my involvement with the CSL."

Join us tomorrow for our annual Service Showcase and Celebration! The annual Service Showcase and Celebration recognizes a year of service and community-engaged work at KU.

We'll be providing a light breakfast and a space to engage with fellow service-minded students, faculty, staff, and community partners. This event will take place in Forum D of KU's Burge Union.

RSVP: https://buff.ly/3Wd1TwS

Chrishayla Adams is a senior studying African and African American Studies and Sociology. She served in the CSL's Student Community Action Corps last summer in support of the Voter Network and the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.

Chrishayla's favorite service experience during her time at KU was participating in the advisory team for the Spencer Art Museum's Emmett Till exhibit. She shared, "it gave me the ability to provide insight and perspective on such a touching topic that has had a huge impact on the world still today."

It is National Volunteer Week, so we'll be spotlighting student service experiences and opportunities all week!

RSVP for our Service Showcase + Celebration on 4/23: https://buff.ly/4aLibll
View 2024 Service Showcase Presentations: https://buff.ly/4aLXmGe

Join us in one week for our annual Service Showcase and Celebration! The annual Service Showcase and Celebration recognizes a year of service and community-engaged work at KU.

We'll be providing a light breakfast and a space to engage with fellow service-minded students, faculty, staff, and community partners. This event will take place in Forum D of KU's Burge Union.

RSVP: https://bit.ly/24ShowcaseRSVP

Our team is growing! The CSL has a few positions open and are currently welcoming applications for all of them:

1️⃣ Student Program Coordinator: full-time professional staff position - apply by March 18 - late April start date

2️⃣ AmeriCorps VISTA Member: full-time national service position through Campus Compact and AmeriCorps - apply by May 1 - mid-August start date (more info to come about this role soon!)

3️⃣ Inclusive Service Recruitment Specialist: part-time Student Community Action Corps position - apply by March 25 - late April start date

You can find information for all three positions at linktr.ee/KUServes. Please share with folx you think might be interested!

If you are looking for service and education activities to participate in on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, January 15) in Lawrence, consider attending Lawrence Public Library's full day of performances, craft activities, and more: https://lawrence.bibliocommons.com/events/653c01ed5c850f480053e222

If you're in the Kansas City area, consider joining the Streetcar KC: A River City Civil Rights Tour: https://www.blackhistorykc.com/so/06OpCS1Ug?languageTag=en

Martin Luther King Jr. Day MON | Jan 15 | All Day | Lawrence Public Library Storytime with Barry Washboard Barnes | 10:30–11:15 AM | Auditorium Start the day with a storytime led by special guest Barry Barnes, beloved poet and musician. MLK Day Craft for Kids | 11:15 AM–12:00 PM | Readers’ Theater Hop over to the Reader...

STUDENTS: As you prepare to start the spring semester at KU, consider incorporating a service learning course, recurring volunteer opportunity, or other civic engagement activity into your schedule.

Looking for inspiration? Take a peek at the service project spotlights on our Instagram () or our 2024 Service Showcase YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqmYQR9wYZ-HHbJmwH28t9Nw8JS8bs2oE

2024 Service Showcase Presentations Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

That's our Director! Congrats, Dr. T ☺️

Congratulations to CCHD's Jomella Watson-Thompson of the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and Life Span Institute, the sixth honoree in KU’s new Salute to Faculty Excellence program!

The Center for Service Learning at KU is hiring a Student Program Coordinator! This full-time position is focused on supporting student engagement initiatives within the CSL, including student organization advising, individual student consultations, and more. The unit’s goal is to provide KU students with personalized support for engagement in service learning opportunities.

Full position description: https://bit.ly/CSLSPC

Application review for this position will begin on November 27!

The CSL's annual awards recognize faculty, staff, students, and community partners who have demonstrated commitment to service learning, community engagement, and/or civic engagement through their work at/with KU.

Know someone deserving of being recognized (even if it's you)? Nominate them for a CSL Award by Stop Day! Award recipients will be recognized at our annual Summit on Community-Engaged Learning and Scholarship in January.

Learn more about the CSL awards at csl.ku.edu/initiatives/awards/campus.

Over winter break, the CSL will be offering an online six-week section of UNIV 492: Special Projects in the Community! UNIV 492 counts as a service learning or social awareness course for the Certificate in Service Learning.

If you plan to participate in an Alternative Winter Break through KU Alternative Breaks or intend to volunteer at least 40 hours between semesters, UNIV 492 is a great way to earn course credit for those experiences while deepening your understanding of ethical and effective service!

Once you’re ready to vote, take it a step further: get your friends and family ready to make their voices heard, become a poll worker, volunteer with Election Protection, and let folks in your network know you’re .

Before you vote, do some research on the positions, candidates, and initiatives on your ballot!

Learn more about getting : votereducationweek.org/research-your-ballot.

Voter registration usually tops out during presidential election years, but Jayhawks have been registering at an increasing rate since 2014- no dips in the mid-term years!

Thanks to NSLVE for this helpful data. We're excited to receive our 2022 data sometime this fall!

Make a plan to vote! Consider how you plan to vote (in-person on election day, absentee/by mail, early in-person) and what you need to do beforehand to prepare (research candidates, locate your polling place, etc.)

Jayhawks love to vote by mail! In 2020, 42% of KU students who voted in the election voted "not-in-person," or by mail. Will you be voting by mail or in-person this year?

Thanks to the National Survey of Learning, Voting, and Engagement for this helpful data.

There are lots of things to consider when voting by mail, and the rules/regulations vary by state! Check out some helpful tips and tricks on votereducationweek.org/vote-by-mail.

In addition to voter registration tabling on Wescoe Beach and in the Kansas Union, there are two opportunities to educate yourself about the voting process today!

Loud Light will be on campus from 11am-1pm collecting pledges to vote and giving away pizza, and we'll be chatting about local elections with campus and community experts from 5:30-6:30pm! We also have a virtual option for this event: bit.ly/LocalElectionsKS

If you’re voting absentee or by mail, request your mail-in ballot today! Learn more: votereducationweek.org/vote-by-mail

During this week, we'll be sharing some information from KU's student voting report from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement. This data helps us inform our strategies when encouraging KU students to participate in elections!