Xavier University
3800 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45207
2022 Summer Service Internship Program
Grant Application:
For the past 27 summers, the Xavier University Summer Service Internship Program has provided a unique opportunity to nurture the commitment to community service in college youth. In 2022, the program will place 20 college interns in full-time service at selected local community agencies. These interns will provide approximately 5,000 hours of service at 20 organizations. About half of the interns will potentially work at sites that directly benefit children and youth. The agencies may include Kennedy Heights Art Center, Project Connect, Su Casa Hispanic Center, Stepping Stones, Boys and Girls Club, Civic Garden Center, and Imago Earth Center.
Goals:
• Teach college students to become leaders within the community and understand the complex problems of marginalized populations.
• Increase awareness of community services available to individuals in the community.
Grant Evaluation Report:
The program was very successful. The interns made a significant contribution to the community and particularly to the children who were served in the various agencies supported through this grant. The four small group mentors continued to enhance the learning embedded in the experience. New community partnerships provided an opportunity to work with more children from low-income and struggling families. When counting ALL of the Xavier Summer Service interns, they served more than 740 students for contact hours totaling 22,275.
Results:
The primary goal of teaching college students how to become leaders within the community and to understand the complex problems that marginalized populations face was met. Working full-time in a range of social service agencies and community organizations provided these interns with a unique opportunity to be engaged with populations that they might not have encountered had they taken the typical “summer job.” Over half of the interns worked at sites that directly benefited children and youth. The program encouraged social responsibility and interest in vocations in human services fields, including those that serve children. Half of the interns from the summer reported that this experience impacted their future career direction. The goal of increasing interns’ awareness of the community and services available to individuals in the community was met as seen through the results of the pre-and post-internship survey (see attached results).
During the summer of 2022, 20 Xavier University students provided 5,863 hours of service at 18 local agencies in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Dater Foundation grant funded stipends and expenses for seven interns who worked in agencies that serve children. These interns had a range of responsibilities including:
? Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati – the intern may assist the Education Director in providing educationally-focused activities to provide reading and math enrichment and motivation and other academic enrichment programs for children ages 6-18.
? Civic Garden Center - The intern will assist in engaging local children in neighborhood community gardens and teaching them about gardening and healthy food choices.
? Imago Earth Center – The intern may help with developing, teaching, and evaluating the agency’s environmental education programs (primarily summer camps) for children ages 4-14.
? Kennedy Heights Art Center – The intern may serve as a program assistant for art opportunities camp, arts events and arts exhibitions.
? Su Casa Hispanic Center – The intern may serve as a teacher for the summer enrichment program, Vacaciones Utiles, which is aimed at preschool and early elementary-aged Hispanic children. This involves teaching a class, working with other teachers and staff, and preparing and implementing lesson plans.
? Project Connect – The intern may provide an eight-week summer program focusing on reading and enrichment activities for homeless children and youth.
? Stepping Stones – The intern will serve as a unit leader for a day camp. The camp provides recreational and educational programming for youth with disabilities.
Website:
http://www.xavier.edu Amount: $25,000
Date: March 2022
