By: Kate McPherson, author, director at Project Service Leadership
If you are a teacher or youth-serving professional who directs students in service learning projects, you know how critical it is to establish partnerships with surrounding community organizations. In my new book, Learn, Serve, Succeed: Tools and Techniques for Youth Service-Learning, I take readers through the entire service-learning process. In regard to partnerships, most people start by finding an organization that can easily support their learning goals.
While the possible partnerships are endless, it is important to develop a partner who genuinely values working with youth and who has a staff person who can champion the project. You also want a partner who would benefit from and value the research, direct service to clients, public awareness, advocacy, or products that youth can provide.
Some natural local partners can include neighborhood associations, city or community service programs, public health organizations, chambers of commerce, arts organizations, volunteer centers, veterans organizations, nonprofit organizations such as the Humane Society or Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org), and faith-based organizations.
Establishing Partnerships
A high-quality service-learning curriculum often benefits from a long-term partnership with community-based organizations and agencies. These partnership help sustain the program by mobilizing shared knowledge, supervision, and resources. It also enables projects to be more likely to have more long-term impact on the community, and it provides an authentic purpose and audience for student work. It is important that the school and community partner are equally informed about the purposes and expectations of the projects.
I recommend the following tips in developing community partnerships:
- Before your initial approach, do some research about the partner. Know its mission, specific goals, and policies.
- Community partners appreciate being included in the planning process. A face-to-face planning meeting makes all the difference—and helps with the development of trust.
- Be explicit and clear about your goals and expectations for the partnership. What will you provide to the organization? What do you hope they can provide to you?
- If you have specific elements that must be included in the project, mention those to the organization up front.
- Look to your partner as a resource for your academic goals as well. Because they are so familiar with the elements of the service component, they may be able to provide you with suggested opportunities for making good academic connections.
- Be organized about your dates—and make sure to give your community partner plenty of advance notice.
- Communicate roles clearly. Be explicit, both about the partnership and about the process.
- Not all prospective community partners have a full-time volunteer coordinator—and most organizations do not have staff dedicated to working with students. Do not assume that your community partner will understand how your school or program functions.
- Community partners are used to working with adult volunteers, and will have “adult” expectations when it comes to planning attendance and appropriate dress and behavior on site. Be prepared to reassure them that someone will be responsible for communicating these expectations to students and monitoring student behavior.
- Nonprofit organizations are usually well networked with one another; if one says that it cannot accommodate you, ask if they can recommend another organization with a similar mission.
- Always come through on your time commitment to the partner—this includes arriving on time, and staying through the time allotment you discussed in advance.
- Be sure to provide enough adults to supervise the student group. Ask the partner what the suggested adult/student ratio is, and be prepared to make suggestions based on your school or organization’s protocols or requirements. Do not assume that the partner will provide staff (or volunteers) to fulfill that ratio.
- Partners like hearing the impact that they have had. After the project is completed, encourage your students to share a reflective appreciation—a short note, or a link to a blog—with the partner.
