Great Cities

Learn and Serve America

Great Cities Great Service Consortium

Otterbein College* Ohio Campus Compact* University of Cincinnati

The Learn and Serve America, Great Cities Great Service grant led by Otterbein College, Ohio Campus Compact, and University of Cincinnati is a state-wide community of practice to mobilize college students and urban youth volunteers in civic service through our model initiative, youthLEAD (Learn, Engage, Act & Decide). We will train participants in the cultural competencies necessary to serve side-by-side with urban youth as capacity builders, solving community problems, serving those living in poverty, and strengthening urban wellness.

Great Cities Great Service Consortium will:

• create a state-wide network of campuses engaging students, K-12 urban youth, and other intergenerational community partners in innovative service-learning and research projects,
• engage in projects are focused on fostering urban youth connectedness to their communities;
• and form a supportive community of practice to share knowledge, infrastructures, and resources in urban areas of Ohio.

BGSU and Libby High School students worked together on their collaboration skills in a session using image theater. They particpated in Kate Collins' "Citizen Artitist Community Engagement Project" part of the Great Cities Great Service mini grant.

Training and Technical Assistance

Training and development will be offered to assist in gearing up projects at interested campuses, schools, and surrounding communities.

Faculty Fellows Program: An opportunity for faculty to perform research on one of the three themes of the grant and disseminate best practices

• Great Cities Institute: Primary alliance-building opportunity for consortium members and their grant teams
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• Regional Meetings: Meetings in respective urban centers to enhance asset planning, share information about partnerships/service-learning programs, and to provide training and technical assistance.

Financial Support

Consortium members have received Great Cities Great Service Mini-Grants in the form of $2,000 - $7,000 service-learning mini-grants in order to:

• Plan at least ONE service-learning course based on the "youthLEAD" model
• Form an advisory council with a community partner
• Create a campus advisory body to write a strategic plan for service-learning on campus

Criteria for mini-grants include:

• Proximity to high-risk urban youth population in Ohio
• Committed K-12 School Community Project with community-identified need
• Commitment to institutionalization of service-learning
• Innovative teaching strategy
• Plans to incorporate youthLEAD model
• Administrative infrastructure capable of sound fiscal management

For more information, contact:

Melissa Kesler Gilbert: Director, Center for Community Engagement, Otterbein College.
614-823-1251 or mgilbert@otterbein.edu

Jen Gilbride-Brown, Ohio Campus Compact.
740-587-8572 or occjen@alink.com