Interims in Service-Learning
To facilitate learning about issues of social concern through service, training and discussion
Since 1987, students, faculty, and staff have served locally, nationally and internationally in diverse locations, such as Woodlawn, San Francisco, Harlem, Honduras, Calcutta, Zimbabwe, Brazil, and Mozambique. Students are selected in the spring through an application process and spend the fall semester attending weekly meetings of intense orientation as well as fundraising. They research topics related to the host country, its people, culture, and religion, and engage in training and team-building exercises. Evaluation is based on participation in the orientation sessions, a pre-trip presentation, and on-site performance.
This past interim, The Bunting Center offered projects in Chennai, India and in San Francisco. Students on the India team worked at both Angel House (an orphanage) and a home for the elderly, displaced women and their children, as they examined and reflected on issues of poverty, politics, economics, and cross-cultural interaction. In San Francisco, participants served as volunteers at Glide Memorial, a local Methodist church located in the Tenderloin. Working mainly with Glide’s meals program, students witnessed firsthand the effects of poverty, homelessness, and hunger, as they explored the various causes and solutions of these social problems.
How can I participate?
Students are selected in the spring through an application process and spend the fall attending weekly preparation meetings. They research topics related to the host country, its people, culture, and religion, and engage in training and team-building exercises, fundraising and a Fall Break Retreat. 2009 Interims teams to Mozambique and San Francisco are complete. Watch for applications for Interim 2010 in March.
Students can also find assistance for contracting individualized interim projects serving in communities around the city, nation, and world. For more information, contact the Bunting Center staff.