Community Service

Community Service Opportunities

The Office of Community Service supports Hiram College’s commitment of developing socially responsible and ethical citizens through integrating meaningful community service with coursework and reflection to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and support communities.

Spring break is an ideal time for students to engage in extended community service. Hiram College facilitates and organizes trips each March so students can spend a week volunteering in community with one another.

The Office of Community Service offers students the opportunity to participate in Hiram’s annual Habitat for Humanity trip working with social service agencies, or students may plan a student-led trip to a designation of their choosing. Some past locations have included Washington D.C., Massachusetts, New Orleans, Milwaukee and North Carolina.

Come and share a simple meal together and help raise money for our Campus Day service projects and the local food banks! We are doing it a little different this year. We have added some lunch times, so you can enjoy Bread and Soup for lunch and dinner!

WHAT IS BREAD AND SOUP?

Bread and Soup is an opportunity for students to help feed the hungry in our communities. One in six children go hungry in Portage County alone, and you can make the difference. By eating a simple meal together with your fellow students, faculty, staff, and community members, you can make a direct impact on those who go hungry in and around our state. For every meal purchased, one dollar goes towards helping the local community by providing meal boxes and hygiene packs.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Students simply use a meal swipe
Faculty, staff and community members pay $6 to partake in bread, soup, assorted fruits and beverages
Children 10 years and older pay full price
Children ages 3-9 years of age pay $3
Children under the age of two are free!

Each year, Hiram College partners with a number of area organizations for students to engage in civic learning.

SOME OF OUR PARTNERSHIPS INCLUDE:

BROOKS HOUSE

Brooks House Assisted Living Community was born in 2000 from the desire the Brooks’ family has to help people flourish at their fullest potential, by providing a high quality, hassle free way of life that is cost-effective. Volunteer to help paint nails and play some bingo!

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Volunteer with your local Habitat for Humanity, you can be a part of the change you want to see in your community. We offer several opportunities to build or repair homes with families, in addition to volunteer work opportunities at your local HabitatReStore.

HATTIE LARLHAM

Hattie Larlham provides health care and social programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Hiram College has a long-standing relationship with Hattie Larlham with various departments, student organizations, and individual students volunteering and interning at their facility in Mantua, OH.

HIRAM FARM LIVING & LEARNING COMMUNITY

Hiram Farm Living and Learning Community is a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to grow, learn, work, and live in a setting focused on respect and support for individuals and the environment. Hiram College supports the Farm in a variety of ways, from service learning courses, to federal work study students, to collaborations on grant opportunities, strategic planning, and special projects.

KING KENNEDY COMMUNITY CENTER

King Kennedy Community Center is a place where students have the opportunity to tutor school aged children.

LITTLE VILLAGE EARLY LEARNING CENTER

Little Village Early Learning Center was established to provide quality, loving care for children ages 18 months through 12 years of age. The staff recognizes the importance of a balanced growth through a variety of creative experiences. Children are encouraged to learn and explore in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere where they can develop into unique, successful individuals.

MIDDLEFIELD FOOD PANTRY

Located in Middlefield, Ohio at the Middlefield United Methodist Church, you can find a food pantry to offers hours to help organize the shelves of food and pack meals for people of the community.

NELSON GARRETTSVILLE COMMUNITY CUPBOARD

NGCC operates a food pantry in Nelson (about five minutes from Hiram College) and invites students and community members to volunteer and share donations.

RENAISSANCE FAMILY CENTER

The Renaissance Family Center is a community center in Windham, which houses a number of local social service agencies and provides programs such as tutoring, an after school program, The Salvation Army and community meals.

Inspired by Hiram College alumnus George Bellamy, who in 1896 founded one of the country’s first settlement houses in Cleveland, Ohio, Hiram Service Leaders are a select group of students who serve with local nonprofit agencies and participate in a multi-year student leadership program, all with a focus on ethical awareness, reflection, and action. Students reflect on and advocate for fairness, impartiality, and equality while addressing systematic social and environmental issues and participate intentionally as a citizen in the democratic process, actively engaging in direct service and public policy.

Service Learning, as defined by Learn and Serve America, “is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.”

SERVICE LEARNING COURSES (SL) ARE 1-4 CREDIT HOUR COURSES WHICH FULFILL THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

Provide academic content and experiences whose student-learning outcomes are enhanced by activities beyond the traditional classroom.
Provide service activities, which by design reinforce course learning objectives & enhance student learning
Identify and provide a service, such as volunteering of time and giving of resources, to members of a local, national, global or ecological community.
Offer structured opportunities for reflection.
Enhance civic responsibility and create a broader understanding of opportunities for civic engagement within the discipline being taught.
Provide student preparation and support for service activities.
Respect and acknowledge the sustainability of the service and relationship with the community partner(s).
Maintain mutual respect and reciprocity between students and the community partner.
Include systems for student, course, and community partner evaluations.
Include a minimal of 20 hours of service, including at least five direct contact hours with an agency and/or its clientele. Up to 10% of service hours may include transportation and/or an orientation given by the agency.

What does NOT constitute service-learning?

A course that has students meet each week to reflect on what happened at the service site, for example, is not service-learning because “reflecting on what happened at the service site”, while important, does not comprise academic curriculum.
A course in which students go into the community to observe or conduct research which does not benefit the agency, for example, would not be service-learning, since observing and conducting such research do not constitute providing a service that addresses a community need.
A course that has students go into the community to do projects, but the projects are never discussed during the course, would also not be service-learning since these courses do not integrate reflection into the course.

Process SL designation

Faculty will submit syllabi and accompanying information regarding the proposed service learning course to the Office of Civic Engagement for comment and any recommendations.
The Director of the Office of Civic Engagement will then send finalized syllabi along with his or her recommendation as to whether it meets the SL criteria to the New Course Committee for final approval.
Approved service learning courses will have a SL designation in course catalogs and on student transcripts.

Over-arching learning outcomes

Students make connections are able to integrate service and classroom learning.
Made a contribution to a local, national, global or ecological community.
Demonstrates an enhanced understanding of civic responsibility.
Demonstrates an enhanced understanding of opportunities to engage in civic responsibility within the discipline being taught.