Community Service Program Guidelines

Transcription

1 Community Service Program Guidelines Serving God by serving others NOTE: This handbook may also be viewed online at

2 NHCS Community Service Biblical Foundations and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:37-40 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. I John 3:17-18 God wants us to serve one another. Do you believe and understand what an important statement this is? He wants us to serve one another not out of mere obligation, but as a reflection of the great love He has for us. Jesus was THE great servant. Through His death on the cross, God took on flesh to serve mankind. He saw humanity s need (for Redemption) and He met it (through Calvary). Finding and meeting needs that s what service is all about, isn t it? At North Hills, we take the charge to serve others very seriously. I John 3 tells us to love others by serving them; if we fail to do so, we ultimately fail to love God. In other words, if we do not love one another through actions by sacrificing ourselves, by offering our time and talents, and by acting upon human need we ultimately do not love God. So, John says, if we love God we will serve others as an outward expression of our love for Him. Chapter two of James also hammers home this point when James states that faith without works is dead. If we do not practice the faith we claim to have, he says, we don t have authentic faith. So what does all of this mean for our service program? It means that we want you to become servants. Not because you have to, but because you love the Lord and you want to serve Him by serving others. And, if you are going to enjoy service, you must walk away from it with a sense that you have made a difference that your time has been profitable. We have restructured the service program in an effort to ensure that you have greater opportunity to get this sense of worthwhileness when you serve. Because the service program is a part of the educational process, it is also our hope that you will learn through service. We hope you will learn not only to love to serve others, but that you will also learn a lot about God, yourself, others, and the world. We want your service to be meaningful. The changes in the program, which you will read about on the following pages, reflect our efforts to meet these goals.

3 NHCS Community Service Program Guidelines Community service is an essential part of a Christian education. Scripture calls all of God's people to fellowship and to serve one another. General guidelines for community service hours for each student enrolled in the middle/high school are as follows: You are required to participate in all grade level and school wide service projects (including projects that occur during the evenings or weekends). If you do not participate in a given school or grade sponsored service project, you will be required to make up the missed service hours on your own at a rate of one and one-half times the original amount. In addition to participating in all school wide and grade level service projects, you must complete individual service. Group and individual hours added together should include at least the following hours: o o Grades 6 8: Twenty (20) hours per year Grades 9 12: Forty (40) hours per year Community service completed during the summer (June-August) may be counted toward your service hours for the following school year up to seven (7) hours for Grades 6-8 and fifteen (15) hours for Grades You may not carry over hours from one year to the next. Community service forms are available at the end of this handbook. We encourage participation with local civic clubs, organizations, churches, or the school. Documented hours of service in helping at Bible School, volunteering at nursing homes, participating with organizations that have collected trash along the roadways, assisting with serving meals in a "soup kitchen," etc. may certainly be used. If you have difficulty in finding opportunities for community service, you should discuss your options of service with the Upper School Principal. Approved Service Activities: a. You are encouraged to engage in service that will allow you not only to serve, but also to learn. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to engage in activities that stretch you beyond your comfort zone. b. Refer to Approved Service Activities & Ideas for a list of activities that are already approved. c. Refer to the lists of service agencies and resources to find opportunities. With the exception of United Way and other referral agencies (i.e. Internet referral agencies), any work performed at an organization listed on the attached sheets is pre-approved. Referral agencies, including United Way and the Internet databases, are among the most valuable resources listed since they maintain

4 - 4 - extensive lists of local opportunities, but we would like to review the projects these agencies suggest before committing to work with them. d. All teacher-initiated service activities (i.e. assisting with athletics, school beautification, assisting a teacher, etc.) for North Hills are pre-approved. e. Many other activities are likely to be approved. Please submit a form to the Upper School Principal prior to beginning the service. If the service activity is not already pre-approved, please complete the form labeled, Activity Pre-approval Request (available at our school s website) and submit it to the Community Service Coordinator for approval. Include as many details on the form about the type of work as possible. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REQUEST APPROVAL FOR AN ACTIVITY. The resources and ideas we provide on the pre-approved list are not intended to be exhaustive! Since this is a learning experience, we are simply trying to ensure that you engage in service activities that are decidedly meaningful for you as well as for those you serve. Please strive to find opportunities that allow for interaction with the people you serve. f. The service you perform must not be for family members (immediate or extended). 2) Verification of Service: You must obtain a signature from the person you served or from the person who supervised the service. Please note: Parent signatures are not accepted as verification of service hours. You must complete a Service Verification Form which is available on our website. 3) Service performed at or through a church: Many of the services performed at church are performed as part of your duty to uphold church membership vows, so many church activities do not count for service hours. We do, however, want to encourage you to be actively involved in the outreach efforts of your church. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, activities that directly support the church (praise team, choir, keeping nursery, etc.) are regarded as things you should do as a church member and do not count for service credit. Other activities that involve outreach to the community (canned food drives, Vacation Bible School, etc.) may be eligible for service hours. Because there is substantial room for gray areas with regards to work performed for the church, each church-related service opportunity will continue to be approved on a case-by-case basis. 4) Reflection: Reflection is a valuable part of the community service process. At the end of each school year, you will reflect upon service experiences by writing a paper according to the guidelines given to you by your Bible teacher. The paper will be evaluated by your Bible teacher. In Bible, the paper and the actual community service will account for 20% of the fourth quarter grade yearly Bible grade with 10% for the reflection paper and 10% for the actual community service. The paper must be completed and given to your Bible teacher no later than the first Friday of May. Having trouble deciding what to do? If you need help deciding upon or finding a service project, the Upper School Principal will be available to discuss ideas and to provide direction.

5 NHCS Community Service Approved Service Activities & Ideas for Service Please Note: With the exception of United Way and other referral agencies (i.e. Internet resources), all work performed at an organization listed on the attached resource sheets will be approved (not all activities at these organizations are listed on this sheet). Referral agencies, including United Way, are among the most valuable resources listed on these sheets since they maintain extensive lists of local opportunities, but we would like to review the projects they suggest before you commit to them. Care for those in need 1) Contact a homeless shelter or food bank and discuss possible opportunities; all work at these institutions is approved. 2) Gather clothing from your neighbors and donate it to a shelter, Goodwill, or the Kidney Foundation. 3) Make kits with combs, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. for homeless people and drop them off at a shelter. 4) Organize a canned goods drive; donate the goods to a food pantry. 5) Tutor younger students who need help in school (You may and should call schools besides NHCS). Please remember: If you are in National Honors Society, you cannot receive community service credit for tutoring because it applies to your National Honors Society requirements. 6) Help someone paint or repair his home. 7) Deliver meals to homebound individuals. 8) Volunteer at a children s home. 9) Provide free childcare for those who cannot otherwise afford it. 10) Contact the Department of Social Services, Rowan Regional Hospital, or the Pregnancy Support Center to see if you can gather car seats, baby clothing, or other items for new parents who cannot afford these items. Go door-to-door (but not by yourself unless you know the people you will visit) or organize a drive at your church to collect the items. Elder care 1) Rake leaves, cut grass, clean gutters, paint, clean houses, or wash windows for senior citizens. 2) Adopt a grandfriend in your neighborhood, a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or an adult daycare facility and visit him or her regularly. 3) Help senior citizens in your neighborhood obtain and install locks or smoke alarms. 4) Organize a hymn sing for a nursing home. 5) Organize and perform a play at a nursing home. 6) Teach a senior friend how to use a computer or the Internet. 7) Pick up and deliver medicines or groceries with/for an elderly person (Social Services may know of people who have a need). 8) Help an elderly individual with cleaning or other household activities. 9) Read Scripture or devotional literature to someone whose eyes are failing (consider nursing homes, hospice, or assisted living). 10) Paint fingernails of the women at a nursing home.

6 Care for the handicapped, sick, or dying 1) Volunteer at a hospital, nursing home, or hospice facility. 2) Collect and take toys to children in the pediatric ward in a hospital. 3) Volunteer at an organization that ministers to the needs of HIV or AIDS patients. 4) Volunteer for Special Olympics. 5) Read books or the newspaper on tape for visually impaired people Care for the community at large 1) Plant flowers in public areas, perhaps a park. 2) Ask your pastor, youth pastor, elder, or deacon in your church if they know of anyone in the church who has an unmet need that you can meet. 3) Talk to your teachers or administration and find out if there are any ways you can serve the school or if they know of service opportunities outside of the school. 4) If you have the necessary skills (or if you could work with a parent), call a non-profit organization and ask if they have any needed repairs to their facility that you might be able to perform. Resource Lists PLEASE consider participating in the volunteer opportunities at the organizations listed on the resource pages we have included in this handbook maybe even consider doing it in a group! The more you extend beyond your comfort zone, the more likely it is that the experience you choose will be meaningful. For instance, it may be hard at first to visit a pediatric cancer patient, but it will prove to be a beautiful opportunity for service that will certainly be rewarding. At first, it is often difficult to be around people with great needs (the sick, dying, or mentally handicapped, for instance), but these are the very people Jesus calls us to serve. Where the initial discomfort is great, the rewards are too. Consider targeting the organizations you are afraid to serve, since the level of initial discomfort is often an indicator of how meaningful the opportunity may be!

7 NHCS Community Service Resources in Rowan County NOTE: Many organizations have age restrictions or require a commitment to keep a specific schedule; please be sure you ask for this information when you call or visit Abundant Living Adult Day Care 1416-A Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. Salisbury, NC (704) American Red Cross 1930 Jake Alexander Blvd W Salisbury, NC (704) Capstone Recover 418 West Innes Street Salisbury,NC (704) Communities in Schools 203 E. Innes St. (704) Habitat for Humanity General Store 125 E. Innes St. (704) Main Street Mission 306 S. Main Street China Grove, NC (704) Meals on Wheels of Rowan 1918 West Innes Street (704) Pregnancy Support Center 106-B W. Innes Street Salisbury, NC (704) Hours: Tu & Th 9-6, W & F 9-5 Rowan Department of Social Services 1236 West Innes Street (704) Rowan Helping Ministries 226 North Long Street (704) Rowan Regional Medical Center Volunteer Services (Long-term commitment needed) 612 Mocksville Ave. (704) Salvation Army 620 Bringle Ferry Road (704) Rowan County United Way (Maintains a list of volunteer opportunities) PO Box 5065 Salisbury, NC (704) YMCA East Rowan 855 Crescent Road Rockwell, NC (704) YMCA Salisbury 828 Jake Alexander Blvd. Salisbury, NC (704) YMCA South Rowan 950 Kimball Road China Grove, NC (704) PLEASE NOTE: We have not included, but encourage you to contact one of the many nursing homes, assisted living, or hospice facilities in the area. Volunteer work at any of these facilities will be approved.

8 NHCS Community Service Internet Resources The following web sites offer up to date, searchable databases for volunteer opportunities in our community NHCS Community Service Resources outside Rowan County Although the following organizations are outside of Rowan County, we are confident that they will provide very meaningful experiences that may be worth the drive. AIDS Care Service (ACS) PO Box Winston Salem, NC (336) Children s Cancer Support Program Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Medical Center Blvd. Winston-Salem, NC (336) Davie Pregnancy Care Center 129 E. Depot St., Ste. 200 Mocksville, NC US Phone: (336) Open Tuesday & Thursday, 12-6 The Jemsek CHARM Project (An organization for AIDS prevention) Rosedale Hill Dr P.O. Box 3413 Huntersville, NC (704) igentry@metrolinaaidsproject.org Muscular Dystrophy Association 5950 Fairview Road Suite 320 Charlotte, NC (704) Operation Christmas Child / Samaritan s Purse 2345 Township Road Charlotte, North Carolina (704) occcarolinas@samaritan.org United Way of Greater High Point Volunteer Center 201 Church Ave. High Point, NC (336) ext Love in the Name of Christ P.O. Box Charlotte, NC (704) Metrolina AIDS Project PO Box Charlotte, NC 28232

9 - 9 - NHCS Community Service Activity Pre-approval Request Student Name: Date: In an effort to make the NHCS community service program more meaningful, we would like to have opportunity to review and, if necessary, discuss project ideas prior to your engagement in service activities. Please complete and return this form to the Community Service Coordinator. If you need to discuss an opportunity with the coordinator, please set an appointment. Please note: IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THIS FORM if an activity is already on the approved community service activities list. Briefly describe the act (s) of service you would like to perform Name of person and/or agency you will serve Phone number [ ] These activities are approved. [ ] These activities may be eligible, but please see me to discuss them. Community Service Coordinator Date

10 Service Verification Form NHCS Community Service Student Name: School Year: Attention Service Supervisors We want our students to make significant contributions to your organization. If you have any comments or concerns about a student, please do not hesitate to contact the Upper School Principal at (704) , extension 103. Date Activity Description Agency Name and Phone Verification Number of Hours School Approval: Total hours