Criteria for Service

VISION, MISSION, DEFINITIONS

VISION: Catawba College Impact - Service Program strives to provide all students with a
transformative learning experience promoting lifelong servanthood that flows from an idea of
servant leadership.

MISSION: We believe service is an integral component of education, personal enrichment,
professional development, and community betterment which leads to fully experiencing life.
Therefore, we seek to develop within our community this understanding and promote service
as a compelling responsibility of all human beings. The service program views and supports
faculty/staff mentors as an integral facilitator of student development.

OBJECTIVES:

• Objective 1: To support departments in providing students access to on- and off-campus service opportunities.
• Objective 2: To provide an avenue for students to apply for resources that support their
  engagement in non-profit and humanitarian service endeavors.
• Objective 3: To provide the faculty and staff members support in their attempts to
  engage and encourage Catawba students to serve others which results in the student
  experiencing the joy of giving.
• Objective 4: To work with departments, organizations, and students to track, measure,
  and report student participation in service.

GOALS:

• Goal 1: To provide appropriate resources to all interested students who desire to
  engage in well-defined service initiatives.
• Goal 2: To provide clear and consistent policies and best practices that improve
  Catawba community’s engagement in the Service portion of the Catawba College Impact
  Program.

DEFINITIONS: The following definitions will be used to guide all the service related Catawba
College Impact policies and practices. These definitions will be maintained to ensure
consistency across all student engagement. These definitions have been created to be inclusive,
ensure consistency across all programs, and account for the diversity across each student’s
experience.

• Service Initiative: A planned event, program, or service of an individual and/or group
  that identify and addresses certain individual needs within a community.
• Service-Learning: a course-based, credit bearing educational experience in which
  students (a) participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community
  needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further
  understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an
  enhanced sense of civic responsibility (Bringle and Hatcher 1999, 113).
• Community Betterment: The outcome of humanitarian programs, events, or initiatives
  whose intent is to reduce human suffering and an individual’s quality of life within a
  certain community by equipping, teaching, and/or empowering said individuals in
  tangible ways.
• Non-profit Organization: A collective group or organization with similar interests purely
  motivated for the betterment of others without the benefit of earning profit.
• Community Partner: A local non-profit or community group who is committed to
  supporting the initiatives of another entity or person.

Attributes we look for in service-impact scholarships:

• Clearly stated goals the service initiative will achieve which address specific communal
  needs. If a student is seeking the funding for an expansion of an existing service initiative
  please state clearly and succinctly how this funding will further increase the effectiveness
  and/or the scope of the original service project.
• Reasonable financial and operational structures for the service initiative
• A compelling narrative of how the student will serve and what their motivation is to serve
  within the context of the service initiative for which they are applying for funding.
• Applicants already have created or seeks to create in the future a strong partnership with
  an identified community partner, peer(s), and/or non-profit for which the student can
  find communal support for their service initiative.

Questions to ask yourself before applying for a service-impact scholarship:

• What needs exist in the community you are attempting to serve with your initiative and
  which specific needs does your service initiative aim to mitigate specifically?
  • Example: A food insecurity program – helps feed persons who would otherwise
    go without food.
• How do you anticipate to quantifiably measure the benefit your project has had on the
  community you intend to serve?
  • Example: Track how many pounds of food through your service initiative which
    was given to those who are considered “food insecure”. According to the USDA
    food insecurity is “A lack of consistent access to enough food for an active
    healthy life”.
• How will you maintain community support for your service initiative?
  o Example: Create partnerships with local churches or civic organizations to help
  maintain the community support and volunteer base for the ongoing of the
  service initiative. Create partnerships with local schools to help identify persons
  considered to be food insecure.