Long-term community placements are a great way to give back to the local community, learn about local issues and needs, and gain valuable skills. The CSO coordinates regular weekly placements ranging from one to eight hours per week (per semester or academic year) at local nonprofit agencies. The range of projects in which students can be involved is wide, providing placements in virtually every area of interest.
Some examples include:
- Volunteering at local shelters, community development or social action programs
- Being a companion to children, teenagers, young parents or the disabled
- Tutoring children, middle school and high school students or refugees
- Being a decisional trainer to inmates
- Being a hotline worker at local shelters for battered women
- Teaching ESL to adult immigrants in a language program
- Working with urban farm programs
Community Fellows Program
The Community Fellows Program is for students who are interested in deepening their commitment to a particular long-term community partnership by acting as a leader and liaison between the Smith community and the agency. Community fellows focus on recruiting and supporting volunteers, being a primary contact person for that specific partnership, and organizing reflection and training for Smith volunteers.
Places we have fellows include: Homework House of Hermano Pedro, Kensington School, Arise for Social Justice, Safe Passage, Treehouse, and Friends of the Homeless Cot Shelter
"Working with students at Kensington School was a magical and captivating experience. But working with the staff, teachers and other members of the school made my volunteer experience much more wonderful! Everyone was helpful and supportive. I worked with students in the 4th and 5th grade who came from various countries and had different levels of English. The teachers and staff members were very comfortable with people observing their classroom and working with their students. There are also many other college students volunteering at Kensington and it is great to meet new people."
–Ellie Theurer '12, Kensington School Volunteer
