Become a Guest Blogger!

Post written by: Learn and Serve AmeriCorps*VISTA – Robyn Stegman

In my service I learn something new everyday and most of it is from you: our readers, our Facebook users, those out there in the “Twitterverse”, and don’t forget our fabulous grantees. I wish the world could get an opportunity to hear some of the wonderful words I hear everyday and I want to give them a chance to do so.

That is why Learn and Serve – Michigan is starting a guest blogging initiative. We want people from the field to share their stories and wisdom, right here on the Youth Service Blog!

Think of the possibilities! You could blog about a student who has really turned around as a result of a service project. You could discuss how service-learning has changed your classroom, your community, and/or your school. You could talk about a successful reflection activity or service-learning project. You could give your perspective on topics like duration and intensity, youth voice, or diversity. We want to hear whatever you can bring to the conversation!

Over the next couple of months we will be using our network to find and encourage individuals to spend a couple minutes and write a blog post about the topic of their choice. In the coming months you will see wisdom and insight from all around the state – and we want you to be a part of it!

We want to hear from students, teachers, administrators, and community partners; everyone who is a part of the service-learning process. If you are interested, contact me, Robyn Stegman, at stegmanr@michigan.gov to discuss how you can lend us your voice and tell us all about what you do best!

But wait! There’s more! At our grantee meeting we began capturing people for our Great Stories program. This is an effort to capture service-learning stories from around the state! Next month we will post our first round of Great Stories on YouTube and we will continue to post monthly stories about service-learning in Michigan!

This is another great opportunity to let your voice be heard. If you are coming to the Service-Learning Institute in February (9 and 10 in Traverse City) let me know before the event and we’ll find time to record your Great Story! Or if you have an event at your school contact me and I’ll try to make it down to produce a video of your event. Already we have highlighted the Detroit Service-Learning Academy with a great video of their Learn and Serve Challenge event and we want to include you!

Act now! Seize these opportunities! We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

2010 MLK Day!

Posting written by the Learn and Serve – Michigan Team

“Everybody is great because everybody can serve.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is right around the corner and Learn and Serve – Michigan is here to help! In this special edition of the Youth Service Blog we are going to take a look at resources and events for MLK Day.

Michigan Resources:

MLK Day – Michigan Facebook
Become a fan of MLK Day – Michigan! Click here to see our Facebook page which gives you the latest updates and resources for MLK Day in Michigan!

Michigan MLK Day Mondays
Follow our Facebook (www.facebook.com/learnandservemi) or our Twitter (www.twitter.com/learnandservemi) this Monday to get the latest resources and news about MLK Day to kick start your week!

National Resources:

MLKDay.gov
This is your one stop site for everything you need to plan, publicize, and celebrate your MLK Day project! Make sure you check out their online tool kit and service-learning guide. Also make sure to check them out on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mlkday) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/mlkday).

Service Connection
The service connection is created to bring all streams of service together to pool resources and share information. Take a look and collaborate with people in your area and across the nation at www.serviceconnectiononline.org.

NSLC
On the front page of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse’s website you can now find links to resources and tools for your MLK Day service-learning project. Make sure to check out their MLK Day success stories and resources page.

What are you doing for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service? Comment here with your plans and projects for Monday, January 18, 2010!

It’s a New Year!

Posting written by the Learn and Serve – Michigan Team

The beginning of a New Year is a great time to determine where you are going and how you are going to get there. We don’t really get many other chances throughout the year to step back and look at the vision of our service-learning program and the steps we should take to get there. But this is an important step that shouldn’t be neglected. That’s why Learn and Serve – Michigan gave our grantees time in November 2009 to take a look at their programs and decide where they wanted to see service-learning six years from now and what small step they were going to take this year to get to that vision.

Here are some of their answers:

So while you are making your New Year’s resolutions and planning on where you would like to see yourself in 2011, also take time to think about where you would like to see service-learning next year. Think about what small, but highly successful, step you can take to get there.

If you are a student, perhaps that step is making sure you participate in the 2010 Global Youth Service Day (April 23 – 25) and the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 18). If you are a teacher, perhaps this is the year you conduct a small service-learning project in your classroom or give a presentation to your fellow teachers on why service-learning is important. Everyone has one small step they can do this year to help service-learning efforts in Michigan’s schools and communities.

I encourage you to take time today, whether it is 10 minutes or an hour and ask yourself: Where do you want to see service-learning in five years at you school, at the state level, and nationally and what step are you going to make today in order to get there?