 |
||
Lara Dubois
Students use study week in many different ways. Some travel to faraway hotspots to rest, while others choose to stay at home and catch up on reading. Last month, eight students from the University of Guelph opted for something entirely different when they came to the University of Ottawa to learn more about volunteerism as part of Project Serve 2004.
The students spent three days in the national capital region, where they joined a group of students from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in helping out at the AIDS regional office (BRAS), the Ottawa Food Bank, Options Bytown Non-Profit Housing and St. Joe’s Women’s Centre.
For example, the students spent a day at St. Joe’s helping to stock shelves with donated food, making meat pies with Sister Véronique (who has been volunteering three days a week at the centre for the last 10 years), and providing a sympathetic ear to women at the centre.
“There are only three full-time staff at the centre,” said Jennifer Chennette, volunteer student coordinator at St. Joe’s. “With so many women, and so many needs, it would be impossible to do what we do without the help of volunteers.”
“Being involved in a program like this has been a great opportunity,” said Sarah Hawthorne, a third-year biomedical science and music student at the University of Guelph. “It’s given me the opportunity to see things I’ve never seen before, and the motivation to look into finding similar institutions when I get back home to Guelph.”
The University of Ottawa’s involvement in Project Serve 2004 is a step toward further involvement in Service Learning – the integration of community service with academic study. The University is looking at implementing a similar pilot project in September. It would include optional service learning components in some university classes. Students would also have the opportunity to earn credits by working on community projects related to their field of study.
