Gearing Up - Weeks 4 and 5 from Last Summer

       During the fourth week of S.I.S. 2013, the interns worked with the American Cancer Society in preparation for their Relay for Life. The interns helped organize t-shirts and gather participant information. The interns learned about the American Cancer Society and how they could best support them as members of the community. For more information about American Cancer Society, check out their website: http://www.cancer.org/

      The interns also hosted a Pen Pal Event on Queens' campus for Sedgefield Elementary and Park Road Montessori. Students from both schools met at Queens for a day filled with arts, crafts, and relationship building games. The S.I.S. interns enjoyed watching the students form relationships with one another beyond their written correspondence.

      S.I.S. interns spent their fifth week working with Fill My Cup, which is an organization that "helps individuals reach their full potential by offering adult literacy, adult basic education, GED preparation, and life skills" to adults in the community. Throughout the week, interns learned about grant writing and actually researched grant opportunities for the organization This exercise provided education around low-literacy rates in the Charlotte region.If you are interested in learning more about Fill My Cup, check out their website: http://www.fillmycupliteracy.org/Home.htm

Highlighting a few more organizations tomorrow...gearing up for Summer 2014! Only 5 days until S.I.S. 2014 begins!

Gearing Up 2014 - Highlights from Last Summer

       Summer 2014 includes many repeat organizations from summer 2013. Habitat for Humanity was a favorite of some of the interns last summer. The interns repaired a roof and did weatherization in a crawl space under a house. The work was challenging and somewhat terrifying! Habitat for Humanity helps families break the cycle of poverty and build long-term financial security by providing affordable, no-profit housing. S.I.S. 2014 interns will work with Habitat for Humanity during their first week.
If you are interested in volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, check out their website!
http://www.habitatcharlotte.org/

      Queens University of Charlotte has a sustainable and systemic change partnership with Sedgefield Elementary, a Title 1 elementary school. S.I.S. Summer 2013 helped organize an Accelerated Reader (AR) Celebration for Sedgefield students and S.I.S. Summer 2014 will help with that again this summer. Interacting with Sedgefield students is exciting both for the Queens interns and volunteers and for the students at the elementary school. A fun time is guaranteed to be had by all!
If you are interested in learning more about Sedgefield Elementary, check out their website!
http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/sedgefieldES/Pages/Default.aspx

     Supportive Housing Communities' goal is to put a permanent end to homelessness and to do so in a way that creates dignity, hope, and community. Last summer, Queens students attended a Relapse Prevention Meeting on site and also enjoyed fellowship with the residents of Supportive Housing Community. They played games and relaxed  with the residents. The S.I.S. interns learned about issues facing the residents and issues within the Charlotte community. Residents were able to share their stories with college students who were eager to learn about them.

If you are interested in gaining more knowledge about or volunteering at Supportive Housing Communities, check out their website!

http://supportivehousingcommunities.org/

S.I.S. History

The Summer In Service program began in the summer of 2013. There were five S.I.S. Queens interns. The students were Shannon (Junior), Tamaria (Junior), Taylor (Junior), Zach (Senior), and Whitney (Senior). 

The summer began with an orientation and team building exercises at UNCC's Adventures course. The first week the students worked with Habitat for Humanity building homes in the Charlotte area. Each week, the group of five traveled from organization to organization making an impact everywhere they went. Over the summer the S.I.S. team worked with the following organizations: Habitat for Humanity, Sedgefield Elementary, Habitat Metal (recycling facility), Storm Water Services (clean-up), Supportive Community Housing, American Cancer Society, Fill My Cup, Crisis Assistance Ministry, Boys and Girls Club, Operation Home Front, Freedom Schools, Promising Pages, Safe Alliance, and Friendship Trays. Each organization brought its own learning objectives, challenges, and inspiration.