Community Partnership Opportunities

Partnerships are integral to the vibrancy and well-being of communities. The Office for Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL) strives to be a catalyst for creating and maintaining mutually beneficial community and campus partnerships.

We engage with community by following a set of guiding principles that commit us to:

Experiencing shared power and decision-making with our community
Communicating honestly with transparency and good will
Honoring campus and community members as equitable partners and co-educators
Critically reflecting on our continuous learning together both in the classroom and community
Transcending boudaries created by difference

WAYS TO PARTNER WITH US

Post Volunteer Opportunities For Students

Organizations wishing to engage SRU students, faculty, and staff in volunteer opportunities are invited to solicit volunteer sign-ups by posting an Event on RockServe (powered by Give Pulse, Inc).

RockServe Logo

Community organizations can establish their own RockServe page through which they can post upcoming events and opportunities and handle volunteer registration and communication online, even listing specific requirements for each opportunity and sending emails to all registered volunteers through RockServe. Community partners can also connect and share opportunities outside of their own organization to reach a wider audience and establish cooperative relationships on the platform.

Community organizations can get started on RockServe by submitting a RockServe Portal Request Form providing information about the organization. From there, the OCEL's dedicated RockServe Street Team will create a page for you to begin sharing opportunities. You can post events directly from your page, or submit an Event Listing Request Form if you need help during the process. Community members should reach out to the RockServe Street Team at rockserve@sru.edu with any questions or if further assistance is needed. Visit our RockServe Link Tree for additional resources.

“For all of the Volunteer Days we’ve had that we’ve used RockServe for, we have had full sign-ups as well as a waitlist that has accrued.” — Samantha Laurence, Macoskey Center

Faculty & Course Partnerships

Community-Engaged Learning involves integrating community engagement with academic course content. As a result, SRU students are able to gain real world skills and enhance their learning while contributing to the community. Community-engagement projects are perfect for organizations that have specific needs. For example, some partnerships have resulted in marketing plans for non-profits, research and data collection, youth mentoring programs, website and social media sites, and computer databases.

Community-engagement projects are also great for organizations that can benefit from long-term and on-going volunteers. Many community-engaged learning courses that study a specific social issue require that students serve weekly in agencies that work to address those issues.

Organizations seeking opportunities to partner with the SRU faculty or courses should contact the Office for Community-Engaged Learning at ocel@sru.edu.

Serve As A Community Co-Educator & Host Site

Community organizations interested in continuous and long-term partnerships may want to serve as a community co-educator and host site for students participating in the Haverlack Good Citizen Scholarship or Bonner Leader programs. Participating students of these programs serve with a community organization host site for 7-10 hours/week during the academic year and may often remain at the organization for a period of 3-4 years. Partners develop community learning agreements (CLA’s) with students each semester to integrate position responsibilities with students’ developmental goals for knowledge and skill-building; ensuring that the partnerships are continuously evolving and mutually beneficial for students and community organizations alike. Benefitting from the expertise and mentorship of their community co-educators, these long-term partnerships benefit organizations as students are able to evolve from direct service volunteers toward leadership and capacity-building roles.

For more information on community partnerships, please contact the Office for Community-Engaged Learning at ocel@sru.edu.

Community-Engaged Learning

Community Partnership Opportunities

WAYS TO PARTNER WITH US

Community-Engaged Learning

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