Jean-Guy Bruneau
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In September 2004, the University of Ottawa decided to draw on the development potential of volunteerism by introducing this popular form of community involvement to the classroom curriculum. The result was the Learning through Community Involvement Program.
Since then, the initiative has snowballed. In one year, 45 professors have signed on to the program and, before the end of the academic year, close to 1,000 students will have incorporated their volunteer work into their studies. So, what exactly is involved? In a nutshell, after reaching an agreement with their professor, participating students are required to commit to three hours of volunteer work per week over a 12-week span.
The Student Academic Success Service (SASS) is contributing by ferreting out volunteer opportunities in order to help students prepare for the job market by doing volunteer work.
Claire Cayen, a job search specialist with SASS, explains that the service is working to help students find a volunteer activity that corresponds to their personal and program requirements. In that regard, SASS has established a close working relationship with the Student Federation and with Volunteer Ottawa.
Ms. Cayen notes the importance placed on volunteer work by the employers who are regularly on campus in search of students who’ll be the perfect fit for their particular organization. “It’s important to understand that work done by a student, remunerated or not, is highly valued by employers,” she says. For that matter, employers will frequently opt for the student with volunteer experience when having to choose between two equally qualified candidates.
Professor Joel Westheimer is a fan of learning through community involvement, but he does add one caveat. As far as he is concerned, it’s important to grasp the difference between the grand gesture that leaves one feeling all warm and fuzzy and the kind of consequential involvement that can lead to real change in such areas as social justice and democracy.
Although laudable in itself, volunteer work in his view should nevertheless lead to some serious critical thinking or else it risks being a pointless exercise.
“It’s important to know how to put things in perspective,” he says. “It’s all well and good to work in a soup kitchen, but shouldn’t we be asking why so many people are going hungry in one of the world’s richest countries?”
Public-spiritedness in a democratic society requires more than just being nice and helpful. That’s why Westheimer is quick to make the distinction between responsible citizens who help raise money for a good cause, those who pitch in to help organize the same fundraising campaign and, finally, those who go a step further and seek real change by questioning the political and social order.
