Community Engagement & Service

BMC student working with Overbrook Elementary students

Engage your interests. Be the change we need.

We collaborate with community-based organizations to prepare students to be socially responsible leaders and citizens through purposeful action, reflection, and learning.

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Volunteering 101

Civic Engagement is committed to developing reciprocal and sustainable partnerships with local schools and community-based organizations, with an emphasis on developing relationships with organizations in our immediate community: Lower Merion Township, West Philadelphia, and Norristown.
Our goal is to connect faculty, student scholarship, educational field placements, summer internships, work-study job opportunities, and volunteer services with the local community to facilitate a reciprocal sharing of resources and assets. Open and ongoing communication is a priority for us when developing and maintaining these relationships. Special attention is given to creating opportunities for community partners to have input into our programs.
Civic Engagement approaches each connection with off-campus community organizations as a new relationship that may develop into a partnership. The initial connection might be through one student volunteer experience, a Praxis placement, a Summer of Service internship, or through one of our other programs.
By creating opportunities for frequent communication and feedback around these initial connections, we can explore other possibilities for collaboration and understand each other's needs and assets. This often results in new linkages between organizations and other programs we sponsor. Our key partnerships are those that are most integrated into our programming and are most sustainable.

Rights and Responsibilities

Rights of Community Involvement

To know about the community organization/partner, its policies, people, and program
To have guidance and direction
To do meaningful and satisfying work
To have a voice in activities and planning
To be given proper orientation and training
To be aware of safety concerns and risky behaviors
To be supported in work done at the site
To have access to resources and training workshops to support and enhance community involvement in work

Responsibilities of Community Involvement

To be open and honest with leaders, community partners, and community members
To make realistic commitments and fulfill all commitments
To prepare before working with the community by attending orientation and attending ongoing training and reflection sessions
To commit to continued learning about the community partner and challenging oneself to be a better participant through dialogue, reading, and training workshops
To enter into service with humility, enthusiasm, commitment, openness, and a willingness to learn
To ask questions, treat people respectfully, listen, and learn
To appropriately seek guidance and direction
To be prompt and dependable
To respect confidentiality and privacy and the individual circumstances of community members
To be an appropriate role model, particularly when working with children
To be flexible
To ask for help when you need it
To realize that you are not the only one giving

Suggestions

Dress comfortably and appropriately
As in any metropolitan area, use common sense (e.g., don't leave personal belongings unattended, recognize your comfort zones, and find support to challenge your boundaries)
Make a genuine effort to get to know people at the community site (e.g., community members, staff, building personnel, etc.)

Civic Engagement would like to thank Civic House, a community service and learning collaborative at the University of Pennsylvania, for using their material.

Volunteer on Your Own

Students wishing to volunteer on their own can ask us for recommendations of organizations to contact and can receive reimbursement (50%) for their travel expenses.

Learn More About Local Nonprofit Organizations

Civic Engagement also maintains a directory of local opportunities in non-profit organizations if you'd like to volunteer on your own, find summer internships, or find Praxis Independent Study field placements.

Select your area of interest to learn more: