Establishing Purposeful Community Service through CSU Monterey Bay

By Steven Goings VIP Leader at CSU Monterey Bay

    The Service Learning Institute is the crown jewel of California State University Monterey Bay.   CSUMB is one of four public universities with Service Learning as an academic requirement.  We also hold the distinction of being the most honored university in the country for community service; having twice won the President’s Award for Community Service in Higher Education. 

    At CSUMB, although Service Learners perform community service they are NOT volunteers; consequently there has been no comprehensive development of volunteer programs at CSUMB until they brought on their first AmeriCorps VIP Leader, yours truly, in 2010. 

VIP Leader Steven Goings with volunteers

    My charge was to do the recruiting, infrastructure capacity building and volunteer management expected of any VIP, and to extend the values associated with the SLI, like social justice and compassion, into the co-curricular areas of our university like Athletics, Greek Life, and Student Clubs.

    Indeed, the mission of the SLI is to foster and promote social justice by cultivating reciprocal partnerships.  But I soon realized that social justice was not the only motivation students had for volunteering.  In fact, some students just wanted to have an enjoyable experience!  So I came up with a way to combine service learning values with more individual motivations by initiating the Purposeful Service Opportunities (PSO) program. 

Steven Goings 

    PSO is a series of WebPages and resources on the SLI website that list volunteer opportunities as “purposeful service” opportunities.  Any student can sign up for any opportunity as a regular volunteer, and they have the opportunity to transform any volunteer activity into purposeful service by submitting a reflection on the social justice implications of their service or by explaining how their service relates to their own “purpose in life”.  These Purposeful Service resources not only  connect volunteers to organizations but also promote thinking about the relationship between social justice and their own volunteer experiences.

      Purposeful Service events that have been firmly established  here at CSUMB include widespread participation in Make a Difference Day, World AIDS Day, Cesar Chavez Day and the Pursuit Youth Expo. There are now annual Purposeful Service awards that recognize service across campus communities. 

    The ultimate goal is to provide both entry and advanced level purposeful service opportunities for our students; to create a cohesive, connected volunteer community that is no longer segregated in their individual silos; and to encourage interdepartmental collaboration on volunteer social justice projects that coordinates rather than duplicates efforts. 

    I think we are well on our way!