IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight: High School Students Dive in at Splash!
EVENTS
Soul Umoja’s "Souled Out" Concert!
Friday, May 29
7:00pm-9:00pm
Ida Noyes, 3rd Floor Theatre (1212 E 59th St)
Soul Umoja is the University of Chicago's Gospel Choir. If you enjoy praising the Lord, and you enjoy good music, then this is an event that shouldn't be missed! We will be singing such songs as "Leaning on God", "Souled Out", and "I Can Make It." A perfect way to prepare for finals and to celebrate a beautiful spring!
Building Sustainable Coalitions
Wednesday, June 3
5:00pm-7:00pm
UCSC Conference Room (5525 S. Ellis)
The UCSC Social Justice program hosts an interactive workshop led by Alex Poeter, Director of Organizing at the Chicago Freedom School. Poeter will discuss the process of building and maintaining sustainable coalitions supporting social action.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The 16th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon is Saturday, June 13. In just one day, 8,000 volunteers will come together to help 30,000 Chicago students succeed by transforming schools into vibrant places to learn and grow. Volunteers will paint beautiful murals, brighten classrooms and hallways, create line games on playgrounds, beautify school grounds with landscaping and organize libraries. To learn more or register today, visit www.chicagocares.org or call 312 780-0800 for more information.
Information meeting to join our AIDS RUN WALK
Monday June 1
6-8pm
The Children's Place Association (1436 W. Randolph Street 5th floor)
Refreshments will be served. Come find out more! Bring friends! Find out more about The Children's Place Association! Register to run or walk! Find out how to be a team leader! Sign up to volunteer! To register to join our team before the meeting go to www.aidsrunwalk.org. RSVP if you and your friends will attend the meeting June 1!
Volunteers are welcomed to work in other capacities at the Children’s Place Association. Volunteer at the Residence (9-12:00pmMon-Sat) OR the Early Learning Center (9-12pm, Mon-Fri). Pick a day! Pick a shift! Call Ann today if you can volunteer this summer! June, July, August. Weekly commitment! You are needed! Ann’s direct line: 312-660-3033
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
Federal Work Study (Off-Campus)
UCSC seeks out and posts part-time and summer work-study positions with Chicago area nonprofit and public sector organizations. Opportunities are geared toward identified interests and skills of our College, graduate and professional school students. View this list for the most current off-campus works study positions.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
High School Students Dive in at Splash!
Amy Estersohn, Edited by Allen L. Linton II
With 12,000 students dropping out every year and only half of students entering as freshmen leaving with diplomas, Chicago Public Schools struggles to provide a strong educational foundation for its 400,000 students citywide. Despite these figures, University of Chicago students from various backgrounds offer a unique opportunity to engage high school students in alternative educational experiences.
For the third year in a row, hundreds of high school students from all over the city of Chicago will make their way to Cobb and Harper on the Saturday morning after first week to take classes from University students courtesy of Splash!.
Splash! is an annual program that introduces topics to high school students not traditionally taught in the classroom or formally discussed within purely academic learning. Classes are taught by University of Chicago student volunteers, ranging from knitting, photography, and improvisational comedy to “Glitter and Doom: The Weimar Republic and the Rise of Fascism” and “Splitting the Banana Split: The Science of Cold.” Splash! maximizes student’s engagement by allowing students the prospect of sharing the ideas they love to an interested audience.
“Splash! takes a different approach to learning,” said board member Lyndsey Moulds. “Students are used to associating learning with papers, exams, and test prep. We try to remind students that learning is fun, and we do that by offering hands-on activities in courses designed by U of C students. The students teaching classes think their topic is interesting, and that enthusiasm is infectious.”
The program welcomes experienced teachers as well as novices. “Many of our teachers don’t have extensive classroom experience, and that’s OK. We want the students to learn something, but more importantly we want them to learn that learning is fun,” Moulds said. Compared to other University activities, Splash! requires a relatively small time commitment, as students teach a minimum of one, one-hour class on one day. The student-led, flexible type of community service offered by Splash! makes it appealing to both teachers and students alike.
With assistance from the Community Service Fund, Splash! is free to attend and teachers are able to incorporate equipment into their lesson plans. Considering the financial constraints on education in Chicago Public Schools, high school students and teachers appreciate the cooperation between student and University members with the common goal of improving education.
“We spend a lot of time working to pull in students from diverse backgrounds. Some of our students have to register for Splash! through their high school guidance counselor because they don’t have internet access at home. If we charged for the program, we would be sending our students through another obstacle towards attending our program,” Moulds said.
The organization regularly reaches out to high school students and parents. Splash! members tabled at this year’s Art in Action, and members visit high schools around Chicago to inform students about the program. Emily Pelka remarked: “Whenever I talk to high school students about Splash!, either they’ve heard of it already or they are really excited about it. And they get even more excited when they learn they can take classes on things like video games and pop music”
To teach or volunteer at this year's Splash!, sign up at uchicago-splash.mit.edu by June 1. To learn more about volunteering for this year’s Splash!, contact Anya Thetford at anyuta@uchicago.edu.
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities through community partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. If you have questions - how to get involved as a student or how to connect to students as a community organization - please contact us.
University Community Service Center
5525 S. Ellis Ave., Suite 160
Chicago IL, 60637
Tel: 773.753.4483
Fax: 773.834.1160
ucsc.uchicago.edu
