Service Learning and Community Action

Office of Service Learning and Community Action 2010-2011
This year, the SLCA has connected dozens of local nonprofit partners with more than 500 students in 25 courses; worked with almost 100 students in Jumpstart and Alternative Spring Break; and collaborated with offices and student organizations to address social justice issues.

Seed Grants
Each semester, the SLCA awards seed grants to professors. This funding (up to $700 per course) supports the creation of new service learning components within existing courses and fosters the development of existing service learning initiatives.

A "Service Superstar" Finds Her Calling
When Ashley Tarbet arrived at Emerson College, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Tarbet picked Emerson because she loved the campus, it wasn't too far from her family in Brockton, and the college offered an array of interesting programs.

Alternative Spring Break 2011 - Boston
The Boston Alternative Spring Break (ASB) group served at the South Boston Boys and Girls Club, volunteered at 826 Boston and the Boston Food Bank, and visited the St. Francis House. At the Boys and Girls Club, the children welcomed the volunteers into their lives. They did arts and crafts projects, helped children with homework, played games, and made new friends.

Alternative Spring Break 2011 - NYC: A Reflection
After ASB NYC, I came away with one realization: service needs to become a top priority in my life. Working with soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters in the city, I got to know the volunteers who have made service their lives and the people in need of their time. Why should I complain about my homework when there are people who can't go to school?

Alternative Spring Break 2011 - Florida
Our work with Community Collaborations International in Niceville, Fla., took us in many directions. We built a fence along Henderson Beach to protect vegetation near the dunes. We helped bag fossilized oysters for an oyster reef in Choctawhatchee Bay, planted irises in a creek to help filter the water, and helped out at a community shelter and food pantry.

My Life in Jumpstart
It's 5:15 pm and a group of students walk into the Service Learning office, juggling posters, artwork, and meeting agendas. This team of students from five Emerson academic departments works together on Jumpstart sessions two afternoons a week. Jumpstart is an early education program designed to help preschool children learn the language, literacy, and social skills they need to be successful in school.

Rediscover Rosarito Campaign
Rediscover Rosarito is a public diplomacy initiative that began in Emerson's Communication Management (CM) program in 2008. That year, 28 CM graduate students, from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, led by Dr. Gregory Payne, reached out to residents of Rosarito Beach in Baja Mexico and began an ongoing dialogue about how to recast the image of Rosarito.

Washington, D.C.: A Home Away From Home
Washington, D.C. is home to many things: a 19-foot marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, an extensive list of free Smithsonian museums, boutique shops that sell sweet potato cupcakes, the First Family, and, for every fall semester since 2007, a group of Emerson juniors and seniors, testing out life as young professionals.