National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week is scheduled to run from from April 18 to April 24. Sponsored by the Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network, this year's theme is CELEBRATING PEOPLE IN ACTION. This point of celebrating this week is to recognize the invaluable contributions made by thousands of individuals every day of the year. Together, their actions make our communities better places to live.

The OCC Service Learning progam and the Office of Student Life are planning a week's worth of activities and events in connection with National Volunteer Week. We want to call attention to the many different ways that our students, faculty, staff and administration are making a difference in the lives of others. Watch for the schedule in the weeks to come!

Shining a spotlight on Everyday Heroes

For the past four years, OCC accounting instructor Jody Padar has partnered with Ladder Up, a non-profit organization in Chicago that is helping hardworking families climb above the poverty line. Students enrolled in her Income Tax Accounting class (ACC244) apply what they learn in class by helping low-income families prepare their annual tax returns. The number of students involved in this project has grown over the years as the word has spread and this year fellow accounting instructor Janet Thullen has gotten her students involved too. All told the total number of volunteers this year stands at 90.

There is no question that these OCC students are providing a valuable service to others in the community. Last year, with 29 OCC students involved, Ladder Up estimated the economic impact of the students’ work at $239,030, mostly through the earned income tax credits that low-income families received. From the beginning of February until mid-April, students spend their Saturday mornings at sites across Chicago and the suburbs. Each volunteer typically serves about five families over the course of one session, with family receiving about $1,300 in refunds.

What do the students take away from this experience? For one, they get the satisfaction of knowing that they are making a huge difference in the lives of low-income families. Second, they get a chance to apply what they learn in the tax accounting class to the real world – not only strengthening the learning that goes on, but gaining an experience that they can put on their resumes. Finally, they get a chance to network with accountants from leading firms across the region. On any given Saturday they are likely to meet volunteers from companies like Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, J.P. Morgan Chase, or Ernst & Young. Down the road, the connections they make on these Saturday mornings could pay off in terms of their professional advancement.

Hats off to this wonderful group of everyday heroes!

Giving New Life to Old Shoes

Perhaps you’ve noticed a cardboard collection box outside the Division III office in Des Plaines and the Faculty Support Office in Skokie. They are part of a great project being sponsored by the OCC Green Committee this spring. The Committee has partnered with two non-profit organizations, Nike's Reuse a Shoe and Soles4Souls, to collect and recycle gently-used shoes.

Throughout the month of March collection boxes will also be placed by the information desk and early childhood areas on both campuses as well as in each division office. The collection boxes will remain outside the Division III office in Des Plaines and the Faculty Support Office in Skokie until the end of the semester.

Are you an OCC faculty member looking for a project for your students or an OCC student looking for a way to get involved? The Green Committee would be thrilled to welcome any support students would care to provide! Students can help out in several different ways. They can develop and distribute publicity targeted to the students and their immediate families. They can give the word out by getting information to student clubs on campus and/or going to classes to do presentations. They can help with sorting and preparing the shoes and assist with delivery.

Interested students could contact any of the following:
Bunny Lynn - lynn@oakton.edu, X1713
Maria Haske - mhaske@oakton.edu, x1952
Robin Nash - rnash@oakton.edu, x1971

Welcome

Welcome to the service learning blog at Oakton Community College. The College is located in the suburbs of Chicago and serves communities in northern Cook County.

Our service learning program has been going strong for more than 10 years now. We got our start with a "Broadening Horizons through Service Learning" grant from the American Association of Community Colleges. We started with two faculty and one classroom of 35 students and have expanded to include more than 25 faculty and roughly 500 students!

Each semester faculty across the college give their students the opportunity to engage in service projects on campus and in the community. These students help agencies in our district meet important community needs. Their projects range from tutoring students in local elementary schools and visiting with senior citizens to restoring prairie lands and helping low-income families prepare their federal tax returns. The experiences they have feed back into the classroom as they have a chance to see how course materials relate to real-world situations.

I am excited about this blog and the opportunities it presents for getting the word out about service learning at Oakton. Watch for stories about students and the good deeds they are doing. I will also be posting information about opportunities and events for you to get more engaged with the communities in our district.