SERVICE-LEARNING & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
The mission of Service-Learning & Civic Engagement is to collaborate with the campus community and external stakeholders in an effort to increase the quality of student learning, engagement, and civic roles as realized within intentional and mutually beneficial community service-learning experiences that uphold the University's mission and Franciscan values.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Madonna University Office of Service-Learning & Civic Engagement (OS-LCE) is adapting its outreach and programming to help protect the safety of our community members. For more information, contact OS-LCE Director Colleen McLellan at cmclellan@madonna.edu.
For information about campus operations and health advisories, please visit madonna.edu/coronavirus
The Ford Community Corps program is formed by both discipline-based and interdisciplinary teams mentored by faculty and staff. The teams serving this year are Business, Dietetics, Education, Science, Social Work, and the Mosaic Leadership Academy.
Ford Blue Oval NetworkStudent participation doubled in 2019! We partnered with nonprofit organizations, such as Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, St. Christine's Soup Kitchen, Zaman International Hope for Humanity, and the Community Opportunity Center.
During MLK Week, students served in the Livonia community as we look inwards to reflect upon leadership and diversity. From making blankets for hospice patients, labeling soap, reading and teaching children about MLK's message of peace, justice and leadership, to playing Bingo with senior citizens, more than 150 participants served.
We love our partners! They include Gleaners , Wolverine Human Services, Forgotten Harvest , S.O.A.P., Alternatives for Girls, Capuchin Kitchen, Earthworks, Angela Hospice, Marywood Nursing Care, Montessori Center of Our Lady, St. Vincent Sarah Fischer, Siena Literacy Center, St. Joseph Infirmary, St. Mary Child Care Center, Heart to Heart Hospice, and many others.
In collaboration with Student Life, we organize community service activities during one Friday and one Saturday per month in the fall and winter semesters.
We offer unique learning experiences by partnering with nonprofit organizations such as the Detroit Zoo, Healthy Communities, Rutherford Elementary, Mittens for Detroit, St. Joseph's Infirmary, Redford Interfaith Relief, Wheelchair Hockey League, St. Edith's Catholic Church, and many others.
In this program, students meet every week in the service-learning space (room 1403) to discuss any topic that interests students and explore ways to "do something about it." Topics range from music, current and historical events, art, science, movies, etc. Dialogue is one of the pedagogical tools we use in the co-curriculum.
Our College Positive Volunteers are academically diverse with interests in many areas including broadcast and cinema arts, criminal justice, dietetics, education, nursing, and social work.
Access & Success Digital ToolkitMadonna University earned the elective Carnegie Foundation Classfication for Community Engagement. This is a testament to our commitment to live our Core Value of serving others, enrich community engaged scholarship; enhance teaching and learning; and prepare our students to contribute to the public good.
Madonna University is committed to integrating pedagogies of engagement inside and outside the classroom. One form of curricular engagement is academic service-learning which integrates community service with course content. Students enrolled in service-learning designated courses have the opportunity to apply their talents, knowledge, and skills to address local community needs and pressing social issues in partnership with local and global non-profit organizations. Academic service-learning also fulfills the University’s mission by instilling in students Christian humanistic values, intellectual inquiry, a respect for diversity, and a commitment to serving others.
Service-learning designated courses:
Academic service-learning courses are offered across the curriculum and include service projects that address issues including but not limited to: access and success in higher education, animal welfare, capacity building in non-profit organizations, caregiving, community health, environmental/sustainability, hunger, housing/homelessness, literacy, nutrition/wellness, poverty, and senior/elder services.
International Service-Learning
Global opportunities to serve are available through academic service-learning designated courses that include a study-abroad component. In the past, students have applied their academic knowledge and skills to help address global pressing issues in countries such as Costa Rica and the Philippines. For more information visit Study Abroad.
Passionate about student learning and the Metro-Detroit area? Faculty members interested in teaching service-learning designated courses are encouraged to contact the Office of Service-Learning directly for more information on how to integrate service-learning into their courses.
Services designed for faculty
FRANCISCAN DAY OF SERVICE
The first Saturday during Mission and Heritage Week (Oct. 4-10), when we celebrate our Franciscan heritage and values through service. Students, faculty, staff and alumni come together to serve our local communities by working on projects such as fall clean-up, cleaning furniture, planting bulbs, sorting clothes, organizing food pantries, winterizing vegetable beds, etc. Our community partners include organizations serving diverse populations; e.g., St. Peter’s Episcopal Church/Social Justice Beehive, Piquette Square, Zaman International, and St. Anne’s Catholic Church. This is a day of transformation for us and our community partners.
Poem for A Day of Service
Written by: the first 50 Franciscan Day of Service participants (2016)
Service is...
...an amazing thing.
...helping others in need.
...a helpful way to reach out.
...helping others to make things better.
...commitment, caring, and learning about yourself and others.
...a way to connect with the community.
...how we can make a difference in the world.
...giving yourself to something bigger than you.
...helping people with a gentle heart and kind mind.
...happiness, giving love, sharing God's compassion.
...helping others and making their life better.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CELEBRATION OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE
During the third week in January, Days of Service are offered to students in conjunction with the university-sponsored MLK celebration. Information about Martin Luther King, Jr. service projects are released in mid-November.
FORD COMMUNITY CORPS - MADONNA TEAMS
Since Winter 2013, Madonna University has offered this unique service-leadership experience supported by the Ford Motor Company Fund. Corps serve in small teams comprised of students with similar academic interests. They address local community needs and are often involved in starting, developing, and expanding service projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor and non-profit organization professionals. They have opportunities to grow as leaders, interact in diverse communities, and expand their support networks. For more information visit: Ford Community Corps.
COLLEGE POSITIVE VOLUNTEERING (CPV) AND SERVICE-LEARNING TRAINING WORKSHOPS
Join Michigan’s college-going movement and become a College Positive Volunteer! CPV’s help youth and families plan for college and KnowHow2Go! Our CPV’s are academically diverse with interests in many areas including broadcast and cinema arts, criminal justice, dietetics, education, nursing, and social work. Trainings are usually in the fall semester; however, they can also be provided upon request. All participants who complete the training receive a CPV certificate. For more information visit: Access & Success Digital Toolkit.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
Based on the Minnesota Campus Compact Social Change Wheel, we offer activities to learn ways to contribute to positive social change, and we facilitate reflection on the role of each person to be a catalyst for the betterment of society.
Service-Learning & Civic Engagement enjoys long-standing relationships with several nonprofit organizations primarily serving the southwest Michigan region. The office also works to identify new partners who are interested and willing to develop mutually beneficial service-learning experiences with Madonna University students, faculty, and staff.
Services designed to support community partners include but are not limited to: