How to Find Service Learning Opportunities for College Students

Many schools have an office specifically set aside to take care of student volunteer interests. For instance, California State University, Long Beach funds the Center for Community Engagement, Michigan State University has the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, and Bentley College near Boston offers a similar Service-Learning Center focusing on offering opportunities to business students. If you're unsure about the existence of such an office on your campus, the Student Services office or Career Services department should be able to direct you to the appropriate resource.

What will you find when you go to a student volunteer center? The biggest benefit they offer is a compiled listing of volunteer opportunities. Sometimes they will have one-day, one-shot opportunities. Other times, they will have organizations looking for a steady commitment. They can also sometimes offer perks like bus tokens to visit your volunteering site or a transcript of your volunteer activities when you graduate.

Sometimes a service-learning component is included as part of your class. For instance, I once took part in an introductory teacher education course that required us to spend a few hours a week volunteering in a tutoring program. By tutoring a young girl from a local middle school, I was able to gain hands-on experience in teaching strategies while also reflecting on how this experience related to my future as an educator.

But don't worry. While the field of education lends itself naturally to volunteer opportunities, you don't have to be a future teacher to take part in service learning. Advertising students can work on ad campaigns for community groups that otherwise couldn't afford professional media services. A writing instructor can add a service-learning experience to an introductory class by asking students to interview senior citizens and write stories based on their experiences. If your professor hasn't already included service learning in a course, think of a way to use an existing project or paper for community-minded purposes.

Service learning doesn't have to be related to a specific class. If you join a student professional organization on your campus you can enjoy networking opportunities and career-related learning while also taking part in volunteer activities that are tailored to your professional interests. That's half the service-learning equation right there. Take the lead and ask to include some time for reflection at the end of each project.

If you're attending school online or through distance learning, then these methods aren't going to be as useful. You'll need to look to your local community for inspiration. Check out online databases like VolunteerMatch, the "volunteers" sections of Craigslist, or local equivalents for quick searches. Keep your eyes and ears open, and keep an open mind. If you read the local paper, look at fliers that are posted on bulletin boards, and ask around, you'll find community dinners, non-profit organizations, charity walks and any number of other chances to volunteer while learning.

This article first appeared on Back2college.com in October 2005 as part of "Enhancing Education - The Benefits of Service-Learning".