Published on Sept. 3, 2024
“I have been a member of Jumpstart for the past two years, where I serve at-risk preschool children. Additionally, over winter break, I served on a sea turtle conservation trip in Costa Rica.”
– Jade Sapp, senior Interdisciplinary Studies and Occupational Therapy Assisting student
Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. We provide language, literacy, and social-emotional programming for preschool children from under-resourced communities and promote quality early learning for all children.
Pictured to left: Jade Sapp painting in Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve.
“When we began this program, we saw shy, unconfident girls who didn’t believe in themselves and how much they could accomplish… Introducing a sense of acceptance and welcomeness into a child’s life can make such a large impact on them. Now, at the end of the program, I am coaching bold, excited girls that are so confident in all that they want to achieve.”
Pictured to right: Jade Sapp posing with four other Jumpstart volunteers.
Students participating in the Costa Rica Global Service Program earn three credits during winter break. Led by Dr. Donette Alonzo, projects will involve working on a sea turtle conservation and protection program coordinated by ASVO (Asociación de Voluntarios para el Servicio en Áreas Protegidas de Costa Rica). Program activities include:
• Staffing the turtle hatchery
• Monitoring the hatchery nests
• Interacting with tourists and locals to provide information about the sea turtle population
• Collecting data when turtles hatch and releasing baby turtles into the ocean
• Participating in beach and community clean-up efforts
2024 Engaged Faculty Awards
Community Engaged Learning, in collaboration with The Connector and UM System Engagement and Outreach, are thrilled to announce two new faculty awards as part of University of Missouri Extension and Engagement Week!
Next month, on October 16th from 11AM-3PM, the Office of Community Engaged Learning is sponsoring the first ever Public Service Career & Internship Fair in Memorial Union! Students of all years and majors will have the opportunity to speak with local and statewide professionals in both the government and nonprofit sectors. Wherever your interests regarding public service may lie, there are opportunities for YOU!
We have set up two panels within Memorial Union’s Stotler Lounge in which professional panelists in both government and non-profit sectors will sit to answer any questions all interested students might have in order to ensure students have all of the resources they could want and need to tackle a future pursuing public service and leadership.
Global Service in Northern Thailand
Published on Oct. 29, 2024
Did you know that you can study abroad for service? Our office and the Office of Study Abroad offer a once in a lifetime program to Northern Thailand in which participants familiarize themselves with Thai culture, customs, and locals and give back to local communities and Asian elephant conservation efforts.
Leading up to departure, students meet regularly with peers and program instructors to study Thai culture and the history of elephant conservation efforts within the South East Asia. Spend one week temple-hopping, cooking Pad Thai in cooking school classes, and receiving Thai massages in the northern cities of both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Then, for the second week, travel an hour west of Chiang Mai to Elephant Nature Park, a world-renowned non-profit animal sanctuary for Asian elephants that is directed by Lek Chalet, highly acclaimed global animal rights advocate, and her husband Darrick Thompson.
Interested in Global Service?
Give back with Cedar Creek
Published on Oct. 28, 2024
Looking for a different kind of way to give back?
Spend a semester volunteering with Cedar Creek, a local equine therapy center. Assist riders on short walks and sprints, connect with community non-profit partners, and spend quality time outside with horses!
Cedar Creek‘s mission is to provide equine assisted therapy to individuals with disabilities in mid-Missouri. Therapeutic Horseback Riding is an established treatment method widely recognized by medical, psychiatric, and social service professionals throughout the world.
Volunteers spend 2 hours a week with riders and horses for a low-stress, outdoor way to give back!
Public Service Career & Internship Fair
Published on Sept. 3, 2024
