All TRIO Students Have to Do is Show Up

Introduction / How Service Learning Works / Student Story / Resources

How service learning works
     Intensive summer and Academic Year Upward Bound courses for pre-college age students in Boise State University's TRIO programs include time for volunteer work or "Service Learning." 
    
"Since students, by program requirements, come from limited-income backgrounds, it is likely that they work a job when not in school," says Sue Huizinga. "That means many of them have not had time for volunteer work." 

We make it easy for them to volunteer
     BSU's TRIO programs make it easy for their students to volunteer by:

  •  Locating opportunities throughout the Boise area, by 

  • Alerting students to times and dates, and  by

  • Providing transportation to and from volunteer events, and by

  • Providing them with service verification forms and certificates for time completed.

Hoeing, painting, helping kids
     
Volunteering so far includes helping at the Boise Rescue Mission, the Idaho Food Bank, the Friendship Feast, the Boise River Festival, Idaho Youth Wheelchair Sports Camp, and the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure.
     Others have helped with Nampa's "Paint the Town," where volunteers paint homes of senior citizens who need help; planting and hoeing at the Idaho Food Bank's Silver Sage Community Garden, and helping with groups like Big Brothers/Big Sisters. (For templates see Resources). 

Journal reflection questions
     For each service activity, students are asked to take some time after the event to record the date, the activity, the number of hours volunteered, and some comments about it.  Sample questions include: 

  • What did you do that was fun or satisfying?

  • What was the best thing that happened to you at the service activity? Why was it the best? 

  • What was the hardest  part of being at the service activity? Why? 

  • How does what you learned today apply to other situations?  For complete list of questions, see Resources.

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Student volunteers at Boise events


Tia Short organizes the BSU Service Learning Program. 


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