Exploring Volunteering and Community Engagement
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the impact civic engagement on social issues via local volunteering. You will not be required to volunteer anywhere, but you will be required to find an organization that specifically works on your social issue of interest and accepts volunteers from your area. Further, you will need to be able to interview someone from that organization via phone, email, or in person. When your research is completed, you will write a 500-word minimum paper about the role of volunteering as a means of improving social issues.
To be clear, the paper could make the point that volunteering does help or that it has little to no impact. Your research should lead you to a specific side of that discussion.
Note: At minimum, your references should include the website for the organization and the person you interview, but you may also include other sources as needed to fulfill the requirements of the paper.
The assignment must meet the following college writing expectation:
Writing should establish the purpose of the essay with a clear, sustained point of view.
Writing should follow the conventions of Standard English (correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling).
Writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified as well as original and insightful.
Writing should follow APA citation and reference style.
Utilize the Assignment Resources for further direction if needed.
Pick an issue: Consider what local issues interest you, what public concerns interest you, or where you would like to see more civic engagement. It could be very specific, such as too many feral cats in your neighborhood, or more general, such as the air quality in your area or even broader like climate change.
Find an organization:
Look for a local organization where you would like to volunteer your time.
You do not have to actually volunteer there; this is just a hypothetical exploration.
Try a Google search for local volunteer opportunities that interest you.
Try local governmental or federal-level sites such as https://americorps.gov.
Try locations like community centers, libraries, museums, schools, rotary clubs, etc.
Find one specific organization where you think you would like to volunteer.
You will need to interview someone in the organization in preparation for the paper, so choose wisely and plan accordingly.
Note: if it is easier to find an organization than an issue, that is fine, start there. Find an organization that accepts volunteers and then research the issue they address. Once you have identified both the issue and the organization, do the following:
Research the organization:
Find the webpage for an organization where you want to volunteer.
Read about the organization.
Note its history/origin, mission statement, activities, and specifics about volunteering.
Find the contact information for someone you can talk to about volunteering opportunities.
Expand your research as needed (i.e., there may be news coverage or some other publication that speaks to the work done by the organization you chose).
Interview:
Contact the organization you would like to volunteer for and set up an interview with someone (by phone or email).
Ask them about the organization. For example:
What do they do?
What impact do they make?
What do they want to world to know about their efforts?
Ask them what they require from people who want to volunteer. For example:
Are there restrictions on who can volunteer?
Are there requirements for eligibility?
Ask what the necessary steps are for becoming a volunteer. For example:
Is there an application?
Do they have an orientation for volunteers or require training?
Ask them about the specifics of the process of volunteering. For example:
What are the tasks available for the volunteers?
How much of a time commitment is required?
Ask them what they personally think is most rewarding about volunteering at their organization.
Reflect:
Consider whether you would like to volunteer there or not. Reflect on what might prevent you from volunteering there (time, distance, energy level, personal circumstances, etc.). Reflect on what you might enjoy about volunteering there.
Consider how volunteering there would help with the community issue that organization is designed to address.
Paper Format:
The paper should be a minimum of 500 words and contain the following sections.
Part 1: Introduction:
Begin with an explanation of the policy (social) issue that interests you.
Discuss what you think is needed to improve the issue and how civic engagement could help.
Introduce the organization you found and connect it to the social issue you are interested in.
Part 2: Organization’s Mission:
Introduce the organization you found with details of its name, location, date founded, history, etc.
Discuss the organization’s mission statement and how the organization works to alleviate the social issue identified in the introduction.
Use their website, other sources, or responses from your interview as needed.
Identify specific methods of improving the social issue (e.g., raising money, providing services).
Provide any relevant data (facts or figures) that demonstrate the impact of the organization’s efforts.
Part 3: Volunteering
Discuss the role of volunteers in the organization you have selected.
Include details from your interview about the volunteering process:
For example: How does someone apply? What tasks can/will a volunteer perform? What sort of time commitment do they require?
Discuss the impact of volunteering on the organization and its mission.
Use responses from the interview, the website, or other sources as needed.
Part 4: Discussion/Conclusion
Summarize the impact of the organization you chose on the social issue you are interested in.
Discuss whether you would be likely to volunteer at the organization.
Explain your stance.
Include any possible impediments or barriers to volunteering (e.g., time, location, task requirements).
Share your thoughts on the impact of civic engagement through volunteering on the social issue you have identified.
Part 5: References
List all cited references in alphabetical order by author in APA format.
