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What
We Do
The University
Promise Alliance hosts Community Outreach Forums during the academic
year, develops partnerships with youth-serving organizations
to host Campus Awareness Symposiums, and spear-heads or assists
with projects on an on-going basis.
What is
a Community Outreach Forum?
Community
Outreach Forums create avenues through which the wealth of research,
knowledge, and practice available
at the University
of
Minnesota can be connected to leaders in the community to meet
community needs. These forums engage students, University
faculty, and community
activists in critical discussions and thinking about how theory
and practice can be bridged effectively.
What is
a Campus Awareness Symposium?
A
Campus Awareness Symposium is a one or two-day day event meant to draw
students and faculty to an activity, either on campus or off, that provides
participants an in-depth, hands-on learning experience in serving around
one of the Five Promises. Symposiums are scheduled within the academic
year to highlight each of the Promises.
The Bridge
One strategy to achieve the University Promise
Alliance objectives is development of the academic publication,
The Bridge. This journal, committed to research, exploration,
and inquiry about social action, public policy, and youth work,
provides a forum in which students, academics, and activists can
engage in critical dialogue on issues confronting children and youth,
from mandatory service-learning classes to youth worker qualifications.
The articles in this premiere issue of The
Bridge speak to the broad notion of Learning through Service.
Future issues will explore and analyze other themes and issues influencing
the community service sector. It is the hope of the University Promise
Alliance that The Bridge will become a resource to schools
and youth-serving organizations for practical, useable models of
community action. It is envisioned that The Bridge will
be utilized as a forum for discussion and evaluation by agents of
positive social change in Minnesota and across the nation.
View The Bridge
Issue One: Learning through Service
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PROJECT
DESCRIPTIONS BY ACADEMIC YEAR
Spring
2004
-Community
Outreach Forum
Youth-Asset
Mapping: Innovative Approach to Realizing the Wealth of a Community
April
15th, 6:00 P.M to 8:00 P.M at the Great Hall (University YMCA)
Guest
speakers from Twin Cities’ Promise and the
Hennepin County Center for Health
Policy and Community Services Integration, who
recently completed
a large youth-led mapping of community assets
in some of the most at-risk neighborhoods of Minneapolis,
will share their
experiences with asset- mapping,
how these results can be interpreted and translated
into action, and how they
effectively
worked with young people in carrying
out the mapping itself. These speakers will bridge
the theoretical research of healthy youth development
to the practical implementation of asset-mapping
carried out by youth.
Following their presentation,
the
presenters will facilitate interactive small-group
activities in which
participants will be given sample health indicator
deficits from the
mapping project and then will
be challenged to devise action plans to recommend
to a community as to how to address the deficits
they are
faced with.
-Campus
Awareness Symposium
Day
of Peace 2004 (Safe Places)
Date
TBA
Held
at a juvenile correctional facility in Red Wing, Day of Peace
involves facilitators, including
college students, in leading
peace-making, conflict-
resolution, and
community-building activities with residents.
-The
Bridge: An academic journal committed to research, exploration,
and inquiry about
social action, community
development, and
youth work
Deadline for submissions: March 4th, 2004
Call
For Submissions:
The
Bridge: Premier Issue
TOPIC: “Learning
through Service ”
Undergraduate
students, graduate students, faculty, and community members
are encouraged to contribute
to this first issue
sponsored by the University
Promise
Alliance. The Bridge is committed
to research, exploration, and inquiry about social action,
community development, and
youth
work from an
academic perspective.
The first issue will feature
personal reflections, research, theory, and best practices related
to promoting learning
opportunities through service.
Publication
(both on-line and in print) will
occur during the summer of 2004. To assist
with idea generation,
articles for this
issue
might
explore
the following:
-How can higher education institutions
enhance learning opportunities
through service for
students and faculty?
-What factors consistently contribute
to the success of experiential
service- learning
classes,
programs,
or service organizations?
-What types of methods, tactics,
or frameworks contribute to student
retention
in service
programs?
-What issues need further research
to address issues of access to
service- learning opportunities
for
minority or disadvantaged
students in higher
education?
-What practices contribute most
favorably to involvement and
continued participation
in
experiential service
programs or
courses?
-What kinds of institutional
policy decisions can positively
or negatively
impact students’ desire/ability
to become involved in service?
The
cover sheet for submissions
and further guidelines can
be requested by contacting
the University Promise
Alliance.
Fall
2003
-Campus
Awareness Symposium
Synergy
in 2003! State Conference (Opportunities to Serve)
November
12th, 2003 from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM at
the Heart Alive
Event
Center
This
state-wide conference held in November allowed
college student
participants to
deepen their understanding
of career
opportunities
in the non- profit
sector, make contacts
with community organizations
from across Minnesota
that are active
in the service field,
and
strengthen their
professional networking
skills.
-Campus
Awareness Symposium:
PeaceJam
(Caring Adults)
November
1st-2nd,
2003
at Saint Thomas University
PeaceJam
is
an internationally recognized
two-day
retreat for high
school
students, where students
interact
one-on-one
with
a Nobel
Peace
Prize Laureate.
College
students
serve
as facilitators,
mentors,
and
instructors during
the
retreat. Prior
to the
actual
two-day retreat,
high
school students
learn
about the life
of
the Nobel Laureate,
the
situation
in
Laureate’s
home
nation,
and
generate a list
of
questions and points
for
discussion during
the
two-day PeaceJam
Retreat.
The
first PeaceJam
the
University Promise
Alliance
sent
college
mentors
to
featured Betty
Williams
(1976-Northern
Ireland).
College
mentors
received
two
trainings in facilitation
and
group leadership
skills
prior
to
the PeaceJam
retreat.
Urban
Debate
League
of
the
Twin
Cities
October
2003
through
January
2004
at
sites
including
Southwest
High
School
and
Arlington
High
School
The
Urban Debate
League of
the Twin
Cities serves
high school
youth in
public schools
and was
launched in
October of
2003. A
pilot for
the program
was completed
in the
fall of
2002. Debate
is offered
in suburban
and many
rural schools
in Minnesota,
but is
missing from
all but
two of
the public
high schools
in the
Twin Cities.
Formal debate
is a
structured academic
activity and
has a
special role
to play
in education:
while other parts of
the curriculum
provide students
with knowledge,
debate empowers
young people
to think.
Through debate,
students are
challenged to
examine issues
of public
policy in
terms of
their legal,
social, economic,
political, moral,
and ethical
implications. This
initiative also
offers support
to an
often under-served
population: young
people who
thrive on
challenging, competitive
opportunities to
demonstrate their
abilities in
a non-traditional
academic setting.
Coaching Teams
comprised of
college students
and high
school teachers
instruct students
using a curriculum based
upon developing
analytical, public
speaking, and
research skills
in high
school students.
These Coaching
Teams receive
training and
support for
the duration
of the
program.
Spring
2003
-Campus
Community Dialogue
April
10th, 2003
from 7:00-9:00
PM at
the University
YMCA
The
University Promise
Alliance and
Minnesota Campus
Compact engaged
participants in:
(1) a
mapping of
the campus
community (2)
a dynamic
presentation by
speakers from
PlanetAide, a
Minneapolis-based international
health
relief organization,
which inspired
and motivated
students to
be agents
of positive
social change
(3) a
venue for
impassioned leaders
for campus
community development
to engage
in critical
discussion about
students’ roles and abilities
to transform the campus community.
For
a copy
of the
report detailing
highlights and
findings from
this event,
please contact
the University
Promise Alliance
Future
Projects
Fall
2004
-Community
Outreach Forum
Insights
and Evidence:
Making the
Case for
Children and
Youth to
Policymakers
November
2004
Guest
speakers
from
Search Institute
and faculty
members from
the University
who research
positive youth
development
will
educate students
and community
members on
gathering
research
on young
people, analyzing
findings, making
practical
recommendations
for community
implementation,
and
condensing
conclusions
for policymakers.
Following the
informative
session,
the speakers
will facilitate
small-group
activities
in which
forum participants
will walk
through the
process of
framing sample
policies
in
response to
sample data/findings.
During this
process,
the
guest speakers
will be
actively involved
in providing
feedback
and
reflection
for
participants
Partners
in the
Five
Tentative
Launch
in
the Fall
of 2004
Five
undergraduate
or
graduate
students
will
be
partnered
with
faculty
and
community
mentors
to
explore
policy
affecting
children
and
youth
under
one
of
the
Five
Promises.
Advisers
from
the
Konopka
Institute,
the
Center
for
4-H
Youth
Development,
and
The
Children,
Youth
and
Family
Consortium’s
Experts Database
will be consulted to identify
and recruit faculty and
community
mentors for this initiative.
Students
along with their faculty
and community mentors will
determine together
the scope
and outcomes of their research
and policy
projects and how to make
the most
out of their experience.
The
students will participate
in monthly
check-ins with their
mentors, site visits of
relevant non-
profit organizations, and a
Report-Out
event at the culmination
of the program, Students will
be selected
from across campus, with
attention to
diversity
of education,
age, and community experience guiding the
selection process.
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