Poll: Scant Volunteerism Among KSG Student Body
Jules Flynn
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: KSG News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The KSG intranet poll is a curious barometer of students' views of distant world events. But last month that barometer hit a little closer to home. The poll noted 25% of the 365 respondents had completed no community service over the last 12 months, despite ongoing efforts of the Office of Community Public Service (OCPS) and the Staff and Students Toward English Proficiency (STEP) and the College Opportunity and Career Help (COACH) to promote volunteer programs.
The OCPS, a student-run community service clearinghouse that runs monthly events such as the recent beach clean-up, helps link students to local service organizations aligned with their interests. Last year, an average of 15 students volunteered each month, raising around $2,500 in cash for various causes and a comparable amount of in-kind donations like clothes and books.
The STEP program provides tutoring for KSG staff wishing to improve their English skills. COACH, a university-wide program, helps disadvantaged high school students apply for college. Last year STEP had 18 KSG volunteers committing 2 hours per week and COACH had 9 KSG volunteers, but this year COACH has just 2 volunteers.
Meanwhile, STEP co-coordinator Joshua James (MPA2) is enthusiastic about the value of volunteering with STEP.
"It's a small commitment, yet students can have a relatively large impact on someone's life. By contributing less than 1.5% of your time, you get to see someone else achieve tangible results," James says.
Peter Gee (MPP2), a COACH participant last year, echoed these sentiments. He believes in the pedagogical value of his volunteering as "a great reality check. The core emphasizes a certain methodological approach to looking at policy issues, but COACH really reinforced the importance of the human narrative when looking at education policy."
Dennis Dougherty (MPP2), a co-director of the OCPS, argues for an increased amount of "service learning" at KSG where students learn applied skills by volunteering for community organizations as part of the curriculum.
The OCPS, a student-run community service clearinghouse that runs monthly events such as the recent beach clean-up, helps link students to local service organizations aligned with their interests. Last year, an average of 15 students volunteered each month, raising around $2,500 in cash for various causes and a comparable amount of in-kind donations like clothes and books.
The STEP program provides tutoring for KSG staff wishing to improve their English skills. COACH, a university-wide program, helps disadvantaged high school students apply for college. Last year STEP had 18 KSG volunteers committing 2 hours per week and COACH had 9 KSG volunteers, but this year COACH has just 2 volunteers.
Meanwhile, STEP co-coordinator Joshua James (MPA2) is enthusiastic about the value of volunteering with STEP.
"It's a small commitment, yet students can have a relatively large impact on someone's life. By contributing less than 1.5% of your time, you get to see someone else achieve tangible results," James says.
Peter Gee (MPP2), a COACH participant last year, echoed these sentiments. He believes in the pedagogical value of his volunteering as "a great reality check. The core emphasizes a certain methodological approach to looking at policy issues, but COACH really reinforced the importance of the human narrative when looking at education policy."
Dennis Dougherty (MPP2), a co-director of the OCPS, argues for an increased amount of "service learning" at KSG where students learn applied skills by volunteering for community organizations as part of the curriculum.
Be the first to comment on this story