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Kathy Sangster, OLLI at University of Texas Austin, asks OLLI:
We are interested in Olli programs experience with developing community engagement/service opportunities for members.
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University of Richmond
UR has a Bonner Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) and this program has extended a welcome to OLLI members to seek volunteer placements through the CCE. A few OLLI members have helped with UR projects through the CCE. Additionally, we invite non-profits with a UR connection (via CCE or other) to give talks about what they do and to educate our OLLI students about the background of their work (e.g. poverty, educational issues, etc.) and to extend a invitation to OLLI students to explore volunteer opportunities with these organizations.
Brandeis University
Good question Kathy and interesting answer Jane in that we have moved in a similar direction.
1. Historically, our “civic engagement” has all been on campus, i.e., intergenerational programs with different schools and centers on campus. These programs continue and we have added other partnerships.
2. Increasingly members have brought other ideas to us — everyone has their pet organization or project — ideas they’d like BOLLI to get involved with. In trying to figure out how to manage this, we ultimately came to a similar conclusion that UR did.
Brandeis has a group called “The Waltham Group” for undergraduates. They have a list of 20 to 30 projects students are involved with for many years. Having met with the Director of the Waltham Group, we are going to work through them, choosing one or two projects to begin with for this coming year. One will be a project that would be a BOLLI community-building activity, e.g., serving a soup kitchen one day together as a BOLLI group. The other would be something that would be more “one to one”, in this case, our members with education expertise will serve as “consultants” to Brandeis undergraduates who are working in elementary schools in Waltham.
This will be our pilot year to work with The Waltham Group. We’ll see how it works.
California State University Channel Islands
We are starting a program with the Student association whereby OLLI members act as career mentors for UG students. Members will meet with students individually or in groups to tell them what different careers are “really” like, form the trenches.