Lesson 6

EVALUATE: Building Community Partnerships

About the Lesson:

This lesson explores strategies for building partnerships to meet community goals and carry out service projects. Three key steps for successful recruitment are highlighted: 1) Providing details about the event; 2) Encouraging positive "gossip"; and 3) Ensuring that there are tasks for each volunteer to do throughout project planning and implementation. For more information about the topics addressed in this lesson, please refer Chapters 5-6 of the RYP/National Youth Service Day Tool Kit. The Appendix also provides Curriculum Connections for this lesson.

Learning Objectives:

Students will understand the concept of teamwork and the full utilization of all available resources in the classroom and the community.

Curriculum Connections:

English/Language Arts: Reading, writing, communication, critical thinking skills
Social Studies: Understanding of culture, analyze conditions to develop understanding, understand mechanisms to meet needs of citizens; manage conflict
Visual Arts: Understand and apply art media
Health: Supporting those and reassuring them of a safe environment.
Mathematics: Problem solving

"For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other."

-Millard Fuller, Founder, Habitat for Humanity

Rebecca Jarvis, 19, from St. Paul, Minnesota joined the Minnesota Youth Advisory Council when she was in ninth grade and lobbied to put teens on state boards regulating issues like the environment and education. "If you’re trying to build a partnership between schools, nonprofits and government agencies, it is important to bring them all to the table from the start," she says. "All players need to start with the vision together in order to proceed with that vision."

Rebecca believes that "putting teens on state boards should have happened a long time ago. It is important to involve individuals who are affected by the policies that are determined by boards."

Later, Rebecca joined the National Youth Leadership Council and launched a campaign to urge schools nationwide to make community service a graduation requirement. In April 1997, she attended the President's Summit on America's Future. When she returned home, she founded the Minnesota Alliance with Youth.

"PUZZLING PUZZLE"

Materials Needed:

Four small, simple puzzles of equal size and theme (for example, all cat pictures, or cartoon puzzles). Mix the pieces from each so no box contains only its own puzzle pieces.

Facilitating the Lesson:

Break the class into three or four small groups, with one puzzle for each group.
Explain that teams will be putting together a puzzle, and the following rules apply:
- The groups have ten minutes to complete their puzzles.
- Talking is prohibited between groups during the activity.
- If groups need to meet with one another, they may send one representative at a time to the middle of the classroom. Representatives can only bring three puzzle pieces per trip.
- The same student may not return to the center of the room twice in a row. All members of the group must have a turn before a repeat visit.
Begin the activity and observe as students complete the task. Initially, group members may go back and forth from the center of the room to trade, which is a slow process. At some point, someone might realize that they can bring all of the pieces to the center of the room three at a time until all puzzle pieces are there. The representatives in the center of the room can then complete the puzzles.
End the game and reconvene the class for the reflection.
- What happened?
- How did you respond to solve the problem?
- How does this connect to what we are going to do?
  
  While students share their experiences, make connections to the importance of teamwork, open communication and how the strengths and ideas of others often lend themselves to a group’s success. Teamwork, sensitivity to the needs of others and inclusion of all members of the community are key to a successful and enjoyable service-learning experience.
Now is a good time to review the plan and have students assign specific roles to groups with due dates.
The following should be taken into account when doing this:
- What do we still need to plan for out project?
- What do we have to know to make this project work?
- Based on the skills of the students in this class, who is going to participate in which steps of this project? (Not everyone is going to make posters, not everyone is going to speak, who is coordinating the community partners, etc.)
Use the following questions to mobilize students and get the project rolling:
- What action must we take get our service project started?
- Who do we need mobilize in our community for our project and how will we do it? On the path to change poster list the actions you are going to take to start the project. In addition, list the community groups you will ask to participate, how you will contact them, and who will be responsible.
- Start the project!!

Reflection

To accommodate multiple learning styles select several of the following suggested reflection activities.

WRITING

Respond to some of the following questions in a journal:
- Describe a community partnership you formed in the past.
- What are the best ways to spread the word about your project in the community?
- List three potential community partners and how they can help your project.
- What are some benefits of teamwork?
- How does teamwork apply to community partnerships?
Write a letter to a local agency that might be interested in your project
Go to www.ReachYourPeak.org and update your Goals Plan and print out the Committee Responsibilities Plan.

READING

Browse through the yellow pages of your local phone book for individuals and organizations who might be interested in your project.
Read about past service projects that mobilized the entire community.

TELLING

Talk to at least three people in your neighborhood and find out if they are people they know would be interested in helping to meet the community need.

DOING

Create a directory of local individuals and agencies that might be able to help with your project. Include their telephone numbers and a brief description of the services they provide.