March 2010 Archives

Volunteer Opportunities Supporting Youth:

 

Activity Club Leader for Youth Program

Do you have a special talent or interest you'd like to share? Consider facilitating an after-school club with Community Partners with Youth (CPY). These youth are looking for activities such as arts, dance, music and cooking. This can be a one-time or an on-going volunteer opportunity. 
 
Preschool Classroom Aide

Volunteer with children, age 3-5, at our Children's English School in Northeast Minneapolis. This opportunity is facilitated by the Minnesota Literacy Council and is available Monday - Thursday mornings.

 

Volunteer Opportunities Outdoors:

 

Bird Bander

Help to capture and band songbirds during spring and fall migration and occasionally during the summer months. Bird Banding assistants maintain and set mist nets, remove birds from the nets, and measure and record data on each bird before it is banded.
 
Garden Guru

If you love to garden, consider adopting one of the Aeon affordable housing properties. They're looking for individuals and small groups who will come by a property weekly to weed, water and tend to flowers. Aeon will provide the plants, all you need to give is about two hours a week whichever day you're available.

 

Volunteer Opportunities Tutoring/Mentoring Adults:

 

Transitional Mentor Training
Volunteer with the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches Community Justice program and make a difference in the life of a Hennepin County resident in the workhouse or an ex-offender. Help ex-offenders successfully transition back into society, so they do not re-offend.
 
ABE/GED Tutor Classroom Aide

Volunteer with Metro North Adult Basic Education for a minimum of 2 hours a week assisting teachers at several locations around the metro. Work under supervising instructors with low to advanced Adult Basic Education (ABE) students.

 

Other Volunteer Opportunities:

 

Mock Interviewers
Would you like to share your expertise and tips of the trade to job seekers trying to make an impression on employers? Resource, Inc. is looking for Mock Interviewers who will play the roles of the employer.
 
Discovery Squad

The Bakken Museum is seeking squad members who will inspire visitors to connect with their inner scientist by facilitating hands-on demonstrations and activities in the galleries. No science background is necessary, just a willingness to learn new things. Volunteers are needed Saturdays.
 
Event Corps for HandsOn Twin Cities

Be part of HandsOn Twin Cities Day! Event Corps Project Leaders are needed on Friday April 23rd, 2010. Be a part of a special group of trained volunteers to lead in a variety of projects for HandsOn Twin Cities Day.
 
Administrative Assistant Intern

Provide administrative support to the Executive Assistant of WomenVenture. The position requires a time commitment of 5-8 hours per week for a period of at least three months.

This is a great summer opportunity for anyone who is interested in exploring science education and introducing young students to science through gardening!

CI 5540 - Service Learning in Urban Science Education Context, 3 credits, Bhaskar Upadhyay

 

·         Class Time: 9am-12pm; 7/7/2010-8/5/2010

·         Class Lecture/Discussion: 7/7 - 7/13; 7/22; 8/5

·         Service Learning: 7/14 -7/21; 7/26 - 8/4 [3-4hrs/day]

 

This course is designed to engage undergraduate students with four elementary schools in North Minneapolis. The students in this course will have opportunities to work with urban school youth during summer science programs at the elementary schools. As a part of the summer science programs, the elementary students not only learn science but utilize their science content as they work in school gardens. As a part of the service learning, the students in this course will be an integral part of school gardens whereby they are not only helping elementary students in gardening but also helping those students learn science and other aspects of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related fields. The course will integrate theories of service learning and urban science education both in the face-to-face classroom interactions and at the sites where undergraduate students will be fulfilling their service learning component of the course.

Volunteer Opportunities Supporting Youth:

 

Scholars & Leaders K-8 Tutor

Project for Pride in Living Youth Development strives to empower students from families with low incomes to achieve success in school and life through academic support and hands-on enrichment opportunities.  The Scholars and Leaders after-school programs serve youth who live in PPL affordable housing sites in Minneapolis, St Paul, and West Metro.
 
Homework Helper

Help children complete their homework at West 7th Community Center's after school program in St Paul.  From 3:00 to 5:30 you can guide a child in math, read together, practice spelling words, and more!  Students range from Kindergarten to 8th grade.
 
Birthday Bag Blitz

Any group -- civic, corporate, church, family or friends can hold a Birthday Bag Blitz at your location to provide birthday gift bags for less fortunate children.  Each person brings small new toys for children ages 3-12, then together assemble the bags and deliver them to a nearby shelter or food shelf.  Contact Cheerful Givers in Eagan for more information.  www.cheerfulgivers.org.

 

Physically Active Volunteer Opportunities:

 

Volunteer Supervisors

Great River Greening's volunteer supervisors lead groups at restoration events and provide on the job training to groups of 5 - 15 volunteers.  Work includes, but not limited to, planting, exotic species removal, and native seed collection propagation.  They also lead projects throughout the year and educate groups on ecological conservation and restoration issues.  They are located in Afton.
 
Rummage Sale Preparation

If you're a corporate group looking for a team building experience Lyngblomsten of St Paul has got the thing!  Help sort, organize, and display community donations for their bi-annual rummage sale.  Times and number of volunteers can be discussed.  Dates from April 15th to 21st.

 

Other Volunteer Opportunities:

 

Basic Reading Tutor

The Minnesota Literacy Council needs encouraging, enthusiastic volunteers to help adults learn to read in St Paul!  Spark a lifelong love of reading by coaching adults on literacy basics.  You can provide individualized support within a reading class, assist with group activities or administer learner assessments.  No experience necessary, training provided.
 
Service Dog Foster Home

Volunteer Foster Homes are needed to help raise and train a service dog for people with physical disabilities. Volunteers will agree to take a Golden Retriever or Labrador Retriever puppy at 7-9 weeks old into their home and raise and train it with the support of Helping Paws of Minnesota staff.
 
Committee Member

River Valley Riders of Bayport provides therapeutic horse riding and driving opportunities for children and adults with disabilities, they have volunteer training April 17 & 18, 2010.  Volunteer by serving on any of their committees: Ride-A-Thon, Round-Up, nominating, long-range planning, scholarship, marketing--BRING YOUR IDEAS!
 
Shelter Dinner Provider

Our Saviour's Housing Emergency Shelter in Minneapolis is home to 40 adults every night of the year, and relies on volunteers to provide a meal and hospitality.  Purchase, prepare, serve, and clean up a meal for 50 adults, the residents, staff, and your group.  Serve at 7:00 p.m., total onsite time 1.5 or 2 hours.  Openings in March, April, and May.
 

Story Time Reader for Youth Program

Encourage literacy skills and a love of books in youth by reading to them during Story Time at Community Partners with Youth (CPY) in New Brighton. Volunteers spend time talking with CPY youth and creating a safe space for all participants, followed by reading a story together.

Second Harvest Heartland's Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) has an urgent need for volunteers to come in and work one 3-hour shift per week, making calls to and answering calls from clients and registering/updating their information on our computer system.  The shifts are from 9am-12pm or 1-4pm and are located in Maplewood (1140 Gervais Ave, Maplewood MN 55109).

 

Please note, there is no cold calling involved; the calls are from clients looking for information on or signing up for the supplemental food program. Training will be provided!

 

Commitment:

We ask for a 6-month commitment if possible.

 

Qualifications needed::

·         Excellent Customer Service skills

·         Very comfortable on the phone

·         Basic computer Data Entry skills

·         Strict adherence to Client Confidentiality Rules

 

If this is of interest to you and you could commit to coming in weekly, please contact Tim Wareham, Volunteer Coordinator, at volunteer@2harvest.org or (651) 209-7917 and he can set up a time for you to come in and get started.

CBS has a number of opportunities for advanced undergraduates to teach in lower division courses, Biol 1001, 1003, 1009, 1010, 2004, 2005, 2012.  We encourage interested students to apply for this unique, challenging, and exciting leadership opportunity in biology.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jane Phillips at janep@umn.edu.

Minimum requirements for these Undergraduate Teaching Assistant II (UGTAII) positions are:

1.     Junior or Senior standing

2.     GPA minimum = 3.0

3.     An A or B in an Introductory Biology course

4.     Available (i.e., on campus) the week before the semester begins for course meetings and TA training.  For Fall 2010, this means being available the week of August 30.

For specific courses, additional requirements would include:

·      For Biol 1003 and 1010, being comfortable about discussing sex and human biology in the context of an introductory biology course.

·      For Biol 2005/2012:  Successful completion of one of these two laboratories with an A or B grade.

·      For Biol 2004: Successful completion of Biol 2004 with an A or B grade.

Pay and time commitment:

The pay is $10.63 per hour.  The time commitment is variable by course and your experience, but the range is 8-14 hours per week.  See below for more detail.

Workloads for UGTA in each course:

·      Section time:  Biol 1001, 1003, 1009, 1010: 1 hour 55 minutes per section X 2 sections;  Biol 2005/2012:  3 hours per section X 1 section.

·      Weekly meetings:  2 hours/week usually on Mondays

·      Quiz writing may be required:  e.g., 1 hour/week

·      Grading:  depends on course but would be about 1.5 hours per week on average

·      Prep outside of weekly meetings:  1-3 hours

·      Office hours:  1 hour/week

Requirements for UGTA involvement for each course

Timing for application, selection:

https://www.cbs.umn.edu/hawk/form528 

Assuming good performance and a compatible schedule, these positions will continue into Spring semester. 

An additional optional opportunity for UGTAs is registration in Biol 4201, Teaching in the Biology Laboratory:

Biol 4201, Teaching in the Biology Laboratory, is available for those UGTAs who want additional training in the principles and methods of teaching biology.  The partially online course is 1 credit, S/N, and requires about 42 hours of student effort for the semester. It can be taken twice for credit.

Summer 2010 & Fall 2010/Academic Year 2010-2011 Application Open - Deadline: April 6, 2010

 

The Gilman International Scholarship Program is pleased to announce the opening of the Fall 2010 online application with over 1,700 scholarships to be awarded.  A limited number of summer awards will be available to students majoring in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) who meet the program's standard eligibility criteria listed below. 

 

·              Enrolled as an undergraduate student at a two or four-year U.S. institution

·              United States citizen

·              Receiving a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application or during the term of study abroad

·              Participating in a study abroad program that is no less than 4 weeks and no more than an academic year

·              Receiving academic credit

·              Study in any country not currently under a U.S. State Department Travel Warning or Cuba

 

Summer 2010 & Fall 2010/Academic Year 2010-2011 applications are now being accepted online and are due April 6, 2010.  For more information about the Gilman Scholarship, application deadlines & timeline, and application process, please visit the Gilman website at www.iie.org/gilman, contact the Gilman Program at 713-621-6300 ext. 25 or email gilman@iie.org.  

HECUA offers off-campus study programs that address some of the most important issues of our time. Each program takes students off campus to engage in hands-on learning through field work and an internship.

Semester Programs (16 credits):

City Arts
- Explore the role of art in creating social change and strengthening our communities.
- SPRING SEMESTER

- register for U of M courses: ID 3581, ID 3582, and ID 3583

 

Environmental Sustainability
- Explore how environmental change is made through science, public policy, & community action.
- FALL SEMESTER
- register for U of M courses: ID 3591, ID 3592, ID 3593, and ID 3594

 

Metro Urban Studies Term
- Explore poverty and inequality in the Twin Cities.
- FALL OR SPRING SEMESTER
- register for U of M courses: ID 3571, ID 3572, and ID 3573

 

Writing for Social Change
- Examine the role creative writers and literature play in addressing pressing social issues.
- FALL SEMESTER
- register for U of M courses: ID 3561, ID 3562, and ID 3563

May-Term 2010 Programs (4 or 6 credits):

Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences
- Explore the U.S. civil rights movement during a 2-week trip through the southern US.
- register for U of M course(s): ID 3564 and ID 3565 (optional 2-credit internship)

 

Environment and Agriculture: Sustainable Food Systems
- Understand sustainability through the lens of the US food system.
- register for U of M course(s): ID 3574 and ID 3575 (optional 2-credit internship)

For more information or to apply for one of these programs, please contact a HECUA advisor at 612-626-2044 or hecuausa@umn.edu or visit www.offcampusstudy.umn.edu.

CEHD Non-Profit Employer Recruitment Event

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

McNeal Hall Atrium - St. Paul Campus

12:00pm-2:00pm

 

CEHD Career Services will be hosting a non-profit employer recruitment event for students and alumni in the McNeal Hall Atrium on Wednesday, March 10^th. Candidates will have the opportunity to talk with employers about their current positions and internship opportunities. This event is open to all students and we encourage you to come. The employers attending are:

 

• Project 8/ Project Legos
• Urban Youth Conservation
• YMCA
• Como Community Child Care
• KIPP Minnesota
• Minnesota Reading Corps
• Minnesota Women's Consortium
• AmeriCorps
• AIESEC Minneapolis
• Lutheran Social Services
• Children's Home Society & Family Services

 

Questions about the event? Please contact Angie Soderberg at hirecehd@umn.edu or by phone at 612-626-7432.

 

Project Homeless Connect
Monday, March 29, 2010
Volunteer shifts are either 9:00am-2:00pm or 9:00am-4:00pm
Minneapolis Convention Center

Project Homeless Connect is a one-stop shop model for delivering services to people experiencing homelessness. Twice each year, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis partner with service providers, businesses, citizens, and faith congregations to bring multiple resources to one central location where people can come to access the services they need.  These services include housing, employment, medical care, mental health care, benefits and legal assistance, eye doctors, haircuts, chiropractic, and dental care.

The 8th Project Homeless Connect event will need approximately 1,300 volunteers.  This event brings volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels together to serve people in our community experiencing homelessness. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities, but the majority of volunteers will act as guides, partnering with guests to help them find the resources they want.

The guides and guests will complete a quick intake to identify service priorities for the day, and will then explore the site, visiting service providers, and eating a sit-down lunch. A background in social services is not required; however, you do need a sense of humor, the willingness to help, and the ability to be on your feet for relatively long periods.

All first-time volunteers are required to attend a training and orientation session, which are listed on their website - http://www.homelessconnectminneapolis.org/volunteer.htm. Returning volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Please register to volunteer.

Philosophy 4326 - Lives Worth Living: Questions of self, vocation, and community
http://www.philosophycamp.org/
May Term (May 24 - June 18, 2010)
John Wallace, Instructor
6 credits
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Come to an INFO SESSION to learn what Philosophy Camp is all about!

   * Thursday, March 11: 11:30am - 12:30pm, 240 Appleby Hall
   * Wednesday, March 24: 3:00 - 4:00pm, 240 Appleby Hall
   * Tuesday, March 30: 11:30am - 12:30pm, 240 Appleby Hall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Participate in a unique May-term residential course that explores topics including vocation, community, education, and sustainability.  While living in an intentional community on the prairies of southwest Minnesota, we'll eat healthy foods, live simply and thoughtfully, work to create and maintain rich, nourishing social spaces, and discuss how to grow as individuals, community members, and citizens.  We create the syllabus democratically based on our interests.  We share stories.  We share meals together.  We learn from each other.  Philosophy Camp is now taking applications for the upcoming May-term.

Other important details about Philosophy Camp:
* Program fee is actually less than tuition would be if you took 6 credits on campus during the summer!
* Open to freshmen through seniors in any major; graduate credit is available
* Meets requirements for the humanities core & citizenship and public ethics theme
* Need-based diversity scholarships will be available
* Permission number given upon completed application is required to register
* Small community of at most 18 students and 5 instructors
* Program participants live together in a retreat center on the prairie in southwest MN
* Reflective and experiential learning focus
* Great for students who want to be a part of an intentional community and reflect on their lives - past, present, and future

Visit http://www.philosophycamp.org for information on this course including the application process, cost, and financial aid info.  Interested students should contact the Philosophy Camp Student Adviser in the Community Service-Learning Center and Off-Campus Study Programs office before April 1, 2010. (pcamp@umn.edu, 612-626-2044, 240 Appleby).

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
2:30-4:00pm
2-565 Moos Tower

Topics may include Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Audiology, Music Therapy, and Marriage and Family Therapy.  Students will get a chance to hear how these professionals got their job, what their day is like, and ask questions.

Every year, Gustavus Adolphus College students put together an amazing conference called Building Bridges.  This is a student initiated, student-led diversity conference dedicated to addressing today's pressing global and social issues.  This year's theme is "Immigration: Surviving the Land of Opportunity". Keynote Speakers are Kao Kalia Yang and Dr. Paul Hilmmer.

This is a FREE conference for students!

Saturday March 13th
9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN

For more information about the conference, the speakers, and registration (registration deadline is March 5, 2010), please go to http://gustavus.edu/diversity/buildingbridges/.