Engaging Students in Learning and Service

Three student public service programs supported by The Duke Endowment are fostering collaboration between institutions of higher learning and their surrounding neighborhoods. The programs work to strengthen communities and make a difference in the lives of residents and students.

Brandon Douglas, a participant in Partners for Youth, interned on Wall Street during summer breaks from Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Challenge

The campus "bubble" is a well-known term at colleges across the country. With student life often revolving around campus activities — classes, study groups, dorms, fraternities and sororities, extracurricular clubs and sports — students often have little time or need to explore opportunities off-campus. Spending too much time inside the bubble can leave students feeling detached from the world-at-large, including those neighborhoods close to campus. Even as many colleges and universities play important economic and cultural roles in their towns, there is often a distinct separation and lack of interaction between colleges and their surrounding communities.

Growing Demand for Service Learning Opportunities

College students in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as across the country, are seeking to broaden their perspectives and expand their educational experience through local, national and international service learning opportunities. Between 2002 and 2005, the number of college students who volunteered increased 20 percent, to 3.3 million, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service. For young people, the experience gained through service is often considered a necessary asset as they prepare to enter today's global business environment. Colleges and universities can harness student energy and foster civic engagement by offering meaningful service learning opportunities.

Find national statistics and trends on college students and volunteering in this Corporation for National & Community Service report (pdf).

Response

The Duke Endowment supports three programs that provide service learning opportunities for students and strengthen ties to communities.

Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership

Through service learning opportunities for Duke University students, Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership supports community goals to improve life in 12 neighborhoods around campus, including boosting achievement at seven public schools and one charter school. Projects and partnerships address neighborhood priorities, which include K-12 education and enrichment, affordable housing, safety and security, neighborhood revitalization and accessible health care. The Duke Endowment has supported the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership since its beginning in 1996. Between 2004 and 2008. the Endowment gave more than $3 million to support Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership.

DukeEngage

The program provides funding for Duke University undergraduates who wish to pursue an intensive civic engagement experience anywhere in the world, including in Durham. DukeEngage participants take part in service projects sponsored or led by Duke, or in student-initiated projects in collaboration with faculty or staff. Students choose to serve in communities locally, nationally or internationally. In 2007, The Duke Endowment and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided $15 million each to launch DukeEngage.

Northwest Crescent Center

Furman University, with other community partners, developed Northwest Crescent Center to improve children's school readiness and to serve as a multi-service hub for families living in neighborhoods near Furman's campus in Greenville, S.C. The center has housed early childhood and adult education programs, a community health clinic and senior citizens' programs. It is located in a crescent-shaped area once known for the textile mills that sustained families and neighborhoods. Now that many mills have closed, the area has become home to a growing population of Latino immigrants and families with young children living at or below the poverty level. Furman students and faculty can volunteer through the center to lead and contribute to projects. Between 1998 and 2006, the Endowment awarded $2.2 million to develop Northwest Crescent Center.

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