May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 1
Volume 1 Issue 1
Community|EndeavorsMay 2010 For The STudenTS, By The STudenTS
2 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 3
services learning events
What Is Learn and serve amerIca? .........................................................page 6
What Is servIce-LearnIng? ........................................................................page 8
features
voLunteerIng In amerIca ...............................................................................page 9
voLunteerIng In nevada .........................................................................page 11
opinions
servIce to the communIty as a voLunteer .............................. page 12
the Importance of gIvIng Back to our communIty ............. page 13
the Importance of voLunteerIng In our communIty ................... page 14
Why Is It Important to voLunteer ......................................... page 16
voLunteerIng Is an opportunIty of chance ............................................. page 17
campus life
my servIce Work at csn ................................................................................ page 19
4 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
Community Endeavors is a free publication that serves as a liaison for the various service learning concepts assigned by educators at the College of Southern nevada.
Enrollment by Age: Student Enrollment by Ethnicity: Under 18 505 1.2% African American 4,252 10.2% 18-19 3,961 9.5% Asian 4,511 10.8% 20-24 14,086 33.7% Caucasian 18,325 43.9% 25-29 8,066 19.3% Hawaiian/Pac Isl. 964 2.3% 30-34 4,645 11.1% Hispanic 9,358 22.4% 35-39 3,362 8.0% Native American 410 1.0% 40-49 4,231 10.1% Non-resident 2,357 5.6% 50-61 1,920 4.6% Unknown 3,943 9.4% 62 & above 680 1.6% Unknown 310 0.7%
Representation By Gender: Female: 21,021
Male: 20,745
total Student Population: 41,766
Source: CSN Institutional Research, 2008
***Digital Circulation: 41,766 ***
Deadlines: Print Date: 1st week of each month
Space Reservations: 15th of each preceeding monthAll advertisements include a link in the publication to your web address.
Rates: Specifications: Full Page: $175 7.43 x 9.5 1/2 Page: $100 7.43 x 4.66 1/4 Page: $50 7.43 x 2.28
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 5
Dennis EcksteinLicensed Insurance Agent
[email protected]/denny.eckstein
Insphere Insurance Solutions, Inc. IIS000048
6 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
What is Learn and Serve America?
America’s young people – from kindergartners to college stu-dents – have the desire, energy
and ability to make a real difference in their communities. Service-learning offers a unique opportunity for them to get involved in a tangible way by integrating community service projects with classroom learning. Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Students not only learn about democracy and citizenship, they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform.
Learn and Serve America supports and encour-ages service-learning
throughout the United States, and enables over one million students to make meaningful contributions to their community while building their aca-demic and civic skills. By engaging our na-tion’s young people in service-learning, Learn and Serve America in-stills an ethic of lifelong community service.Learn and Serve America provides direct and indi-rect support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects by: Providing grant support for school-community partnerships and higher education institutions;
Providing training and technical assistance resources to teachers,
administrators, parents, schools and community groups; and Collecting and disseminating research, effec-tive practices, curricula, and program models.
For more information visit:
www.learnandserve.gov
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 7
8 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
What is Service-Learning?
NEWS
Service-learning
offers a unique opportunity for America’s young people -- from kindergarten to college students -- to get involved with their communities in a tangible way by integrating service projects with class-room learning. Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Students not only learn about democracy and citizen-ship, they become actively contribut-ing citizens and community members through the service they perform.Service-learning can be applied across all subjects and grade levels; it can
involve a single
student or group of students, a classroom or an
entire school. Students build character and become active participants as they work with others in their school and community to create service projects in areas like education, public safety, and the environment.Why is Service-Learning Important?A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effec-tive service-learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school, and develop students’ personal and so-cial responsibility. A growing body of
research recognizes service-learning as an effective strategy to help students by: Promoting learning through ac-tive participation in service experiences; Providing structured time
for students to reflect by thinking, discussing and writing about their
service experience; Providing an opportunity for stu-dents to use skills and knowl-edge in real-life situations; Extending learning beyond the classroom and into the community; and Fostering a sense of caring for others.Service-learning also strength-ens both education and local
communities by: Building effective collaborative
partnerships between schools or colleges and other institutions and
organizations. Engaging parents and other
adults in supporting student learning Meeting community needs through he service projects conducted Providing engaging and pro-ductive opportunities for young people to work with others in their community
For more information visit:
www.learnandserve.gov
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 9CONTINUES PAGE 10
Volunteering in America
America is seeing an increase in community service and volunteer efforts as the economy recovers
by FANTASI PRIDGON Editor-In-Chief
They say there is no way
a person can be truly
altruistic. That there
must be some ulterior motive driving
their selfless acts. That even the feeling
of accomplishment someone gets from
volunteering constitutes selfish return.
Their philosophy, that selfless acts
cannot exist, is one that will forever be
challenged.
American’s want to help. As our
economy continues to struggle, volun-
teering is actually on the rise, and the
statistics below showcase the presence
of community service in America.
According to volunteeringi-
namerica.gov, in 2008, 61.8 million
Americans or 26.4 percent of the adult
population contributed 8 billion hours
of volunteer service worth $162 billion.
The top ten states with the
highest volunteer rates are:
1. Utah
2. Nebraska
3. Minnesota
4. Alaska
5. Iowa
6. Montana
7. South Dakota
8. Kansas
9. Vermont
10. North Dakota
The volunteering rates across
America has held on during this tough
economic time. Between 2007 and 2008,
the number of volunteers increased
by about one million. Approximately
441,000 more young adults (age 16-
24) volunteered during the same time,
representing an increase from about 7.8
million to more than 8.2 million.
Community involvement has
seen a spike since 2007, with a 31 per-
cent increase in the number of people
who worked with their neighbors to fix
a problem in the neighborhood.
Volunteers are becoming even
more vital to America as the economy
continues to struggle. Between Septem-
ber 2008 and March 2009, more than a
third (37%) of nonprofit organizations
reported increasing the number of vol-
unteers they use, and almost half (48%)
foresee increasing their usage of volun-
teers in the coming year. Most nonprofit
organizations are not seeing a decrease
10 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
CONTINUES FROM PAGE 9
FEATURES
in
their vol-
unteer usage.
The frontruner state Utah has
43.5% of its residents volunteering in
Religious, Educational, Social Service,
Health, Civic, Sports, and Arts areas,
contributing 150.3 million hours of
service, which amounts to 3 billion.
College students have made
more of an impact than the general
adult population. According to nation-
alservice.gov, in 2005, approximately
30.2 percent of college students vol-
unteered, exceeding the volunteer rate
for the general adult population of 28.8
percent. The growth rate of college
student volunteers (approximately
20%) is more than double
the growth rate of all
adult volunteers
(9%). College
students are
more likely to
be episodic
volunteers,
while the
general popula-
tion is more steady
in their volunteering
activities.
To learn more about volunteer-
ing in America, and opportunities in
your area, visit volunteerinamerica.gov
and nationalservice.gov.
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 11
FEATURES
Volunteering in nevadaby ASHTON HALL Managing Editor
Nevada’s ranking in volunteering lacks something to be desired,
to say the least. Only a meek 18.8% of Nevadan’s volunteer, landing us in fifti-eth place among the fifty states. Dur-ing the year of 2008, 21.4% of adults in Nevada volunteered and donated 62.7 million hours of service. In addition to the 21.4% of adults who volunteered in
Nevada in 2008 an extra 64,189 indi-viduals worked with their neighbors to amend
some conditions of their community, but did not do so through an organi-zation. In Nevada, more than 3,700 people engage in national service each year 19 through 45 projects and organizations 19.1% of whom are college students. This year, the Corporation for National and Com-
munity Service will commit more than $5,600,000 in order to support Nevada’s national service vitality.
If you feel like you’d like to do your community some justice, but don’t know where to start here are some websites that might help give you some direction.
http://www.volunteercentersn.org/HomePage/index.php/home.html
http://www.springspreserve.org/support/volunteer.html
http://www.habitatlasvegas.org/site/About_Habitat.htm
“you make a living by what you get, but you
make a life by what you give.”
-Winston Churchill
12 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
Service to the Community as a Volunteer
Some people spend an en-tire lifetime not knowing what it means to give of
oneself. The notion that a selfless act is what others should do for the commu-nity is as selfish as one can be.
Merriam-Webster Online defines vol-unteerism as the act or practice of do-ing volunteer work in community service (2010). Volunteering one’s time or do-nating food or clothing for the better-ment of the community is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.
In the hour I spent at Three
Square I was first assigned to the volun-
teer room supervisor who in turn led me
through the storage facility that holds
food and household products that will
eventually find their way to the “Food
Store”. The set up and sheer number
of pallets on the shelves was no differ-
ent than that of a Sam’s Club or Costco.
Upon being assigned to the Food Store
manager I was given a short welcome
aboard and description of how I would
spend my time volunteering. I imme-
diately began my first task of discarding
cardboard boxes for recycle and returning
bread trays for pick up. Upon complet-
ing that task I was then asked to repair
an access door that had been damaged by
a hand cart. The damage was moderate
but just a few minutes later and with the
use of some crude supplies, the door was
once again functional. I completed by
assignment at Three Square by sweeping
the vast warehouse.
While the tasks assigned to me
were menial, I feel it aided the staff to
concentrate on getting their assignments
complete. I later was told by the Food
Store supervisor that six major food dis-
tribution organizations are scheduled to
pick up food and supplies every hour of
the day. By volunteering I saw the impor-
tance of what Three Square and so many
more organizations provide on a daily
basis. The importance of volunteering is
not a check in the block for extra credit
nor is it completing a court ordered sen-
tence. The importance is knowing that
there is a child who will have something
to eat today; that a family will be clothed
or that assistance is there for utilities.
While there are still those who
do not know what it means to give of
oneself, the community is better because
there is volunteerism. For it is in the
words of Ralph Waldo Emerson that
sums up what volunteering means to me,
“It is one of the most beautiful compen-
sations of this life that no man can sin-
cerely try to help another without help-
ing himself ” (1841).
by LAWRENCE ARMENDARIZ Contributing Writer
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 13
OPINIONS
Our community
gives so much to us
and we take it for
granted nearly all of the time. Without
the hard work of those who sacrifice so
much time and effort to our community,
we would be at a huge loss. Because we
are going through a recession it is that
much more important for us to give
back to our community and help others
out. You never know when you could
be in the other person’s shoes and need
that same help back. It is so easy to get
involved that there should be no excuse
not to help. A simple bag of old cloth-
ing that doesn’t fit anymore could be all
it takes to make a difference in someone
else’s life. If we can learn to help each
other out, and lean on each other in
times of need, we will grow as a people
and be much stronger.
The Importance of Giving Back to Our Community
by KAYLA ASTON Contributing Writer
14 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
The Importance of Volunteering in our Community
I believe it’s a very important
for young college students
to start volunteering. Hav-
ing students volunteer is good for both
our community and the student. Our
community is always in great need of
volunteers and students should start
getting involved. Students can gain
experience from volunteering and the
community can get the help they need
if students volunteer. Students that are
looking for a job or are planning to ap-
ply to more prestigious universities can
benefit from volunteering by including
it in their resume. Volunteering will not
only look good on their resume but also
make them feel good about themselves.
Most of the organizations
around our community are nonprofit,
which means they mostly depend on
by MELISSA ARGUETA Contributing Writer
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 15
volunteers to continue offering services.
If we as students don’t start volunteering,
many of these organizations or pro-
grams will eventually be gone. We must
consider that a lot of these services are
beneficial for the well being of our com-
munity. They can help us with our edu-
cation, pets, and health
along with numerous
other things. They help
the homeless, people
with different illnesses,
single parents, and
people looking for
jobs and so on. It’s time for everyone to
put a little of their part to help out our
community.
I personally have been volun-
teering in numerous places since I was
eleven, from a local museum to a home-
less shelter. It has made me appreciate
all I have and made me feel very good
about myself. Schools should encour-
age students to volunteer by offering
students different options as assign-
ments. Schools should provide research
assignments on volunteering, and have
students actually
volunteer as part
of the assign-
ment. Teacher
should also
offer extra credit
assignments
that encourage students to volunteer. It’s
an amazing feeling to know you have
helped someone, even if it’s just putting
a smile in their face. I’m sure that once
students have experienced the feeling of
volunteering they would want to do it
again.
Collegiate ReviewFor The Students,By The Students
Editor-in-ChiefFantasi Pridgon
managing Editor Ashton Hall
Copy EditorT. Ropelato
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GraphicsJuan Candelaria
Danial Adair
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Faculty AdvisorA.B.
Comments or Questions: Please Call 651-4521
Visit us at: www.thecollegiatereview.com
ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE
PRESS
16 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
There is no greater gift then the gift of giving. This week we had an assignment to donate or
volunteer at a local organization. Donat-ing or volunteering in your commu-
nity is importantbecause it helps many
people who are in need. It is always
good to give back to one’s com-
munity. Just by a simple gesture of lending a hand one can help make this world a betterplace.
I con-tributed to my
community by donating to two
organizations. With summer right around
the corner, people are in need of water. I donated ten
cases of bottled water and ten cansof soup to Safe Nest, which is a shelter
for abused women and children. I also went to the Good Will and donated three big bags of women clothing, men clothing, children’s clothing and toys.The Good Will provides jobs for people and sells inexpensive clothes, toys, fur-niture andelectronics to lower income families. After participating in this
assignment, my husband and I have decided to either donate or volunteer at a different organization every week to give back to our community. It was one of the most gratifying feelings I’ve had in a long time. We have taken our two boys with us to teach them that helping out others in need is what we need to do in order to help our community. Ourchildren will eventually learn the value of life and how to appreciate what they have.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO VOLUNTEER IN YOUR COMMUNITY?
by RACHEL SOTO Contributing Writer
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degrees.nu.edu/Summerlin
VOLUNTEERING IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF CHANCE
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 17
OPINIONS
VOLUNTEERING IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF CHANCE
by KYLE TINSLEY Contributing Writer
Volunteering is an oppor-tunity that most people do not take advantage
of. Sometimes it is because people do not have the time or some people have misconceptions about what it would be like in a place you can “volunteer”. Throughout my life I have volunteered at all sorts of places that have given back to me more than could have ever have imagined. Whether it was thehomeless shelter in Atlanta, the home for battered women in California or the food pantry in St.
Louis, volunteering has given me an outlook on life that most people cannot understand. Over the years I have come up with a few reasons why someone should volunteer in their community. Vol-unteering helps you gain professional experience, it promotes personal growth,and it improves self esteem. Someone who volunteers can learn numerous things about ones self, the government and the community where they live. Most importantly, the reason that Ifind most satisfying, is the chance to
make a difference where I live. Not everyone can say that they have touched someone else’s life, but I can; Not by having a job, not by paying my bills,and not by being a good student. Countless people before me have done those very things without having an impact in the world where they live. I changed lives by taking time out of my life to give back to a community that I am a part of. Not to make the world a better place, but to make my little bubble in the world a better place to be.
18 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
May 2010 College of Southern nevada COMMUNITY| Endeavors 19
My Service work at CSN
I would like to share my expe-rience during my ALS 101 class involving the service
work that was part of our homework. A
little about me first; My name is Susan but everyone calls me Kodi. It’s been thirty five years since I left high school in the 10th grade. I’m proud of you guys because if your reading this that means obviously that you either graduated high school or had the courage to apply yourself for your G.E.D. I lost my job so I did the foot work necessary to be able to attend college which is the best thing I have done in my life. I never dreamed that I would be here where you are today. The younger students give me so much energy! The Service work that I did for my ALS class was awesome!
I went to Hinman Elementary School and volunteered to work the
carnival. One of the teachers had me put some sticks on the fans that would be prizes for the carnival game booths. When I finished with those I went to the kitchen and volunteered to prepare the hot dogs and nachos when the carnival started. I had more fun seeing those kids have so much fun and espe-cially glad that I was able to be a part of it. I also went to the school a week later and read to the students. That was so fulfilling and I will continue every year to do this. Good luck and enjoy!
by SUSAN THURMOND Contributing Writer
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20 COMMUNITY| Endeavors College of Southern nevada May 2010
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