‘Service’ – too often relegated to something done in one’s spare time – Caldwell Fellows seek to take deeply into the concept of service living. It is not to say that they drop everything and run for public office or work fulltime in social relief services. Rather, it is to seek to strengthen that part of themselves that is attached to something larger, whether family, community, nation or world; to see that their lives are inextricably bound up with the welfare of others. They perceive that serving precedes leading and thus strive to apply Robert Greenleaf’s principles of ‘servant leadership’ to leadership practices and vocations, including engineering, medicine, design, law, etc. Recognizing that all are not positioned equally to give of themselves, they take seriously the intellect, privilege and means that Caldwell Fellows possess and believe that “to whom much has been given is much required.”
In this spirit, Caldwell Fellows commit themselves to deep engagement in service. Through the experiential learning design of the sophomore leadership seminar, Caldwell Fellows both practice the application of leadership theory and provide meaningful service in one of the program’s on-going community partnerships. Continued engagement with one of the partners is encouraged for the full period of one’s status as a Caldwell Fellow; upperclass(wo)men Fellows provide the leadership and mentoring to younger Caldwells at each of the project venues. Our partners include:
Social Issues: Education/at-risk Youth
Agency/Project Partner: Kids Cafe/Avent West Community
Location: Avent Ferry United Methodist Church
Time: Tuesdays 4:30-6:30pm
Kids Cafe is an after-school program that offers tutoring, mentoring, and nutritious meals to children in our community. Initiated by America’s Second Harvest, the Food Bank network, Kids Cafe provides a safe and positive environment for children ages 15 and under to gather after school. In the Triangle area, there are two Kids Cafe sites, which operate in partnership with the Avent West community; both are in the NC State neighborhood. The Avent Ferry site serves middle school children. Most of the students at this site are ESL (English as a Second Language) students from Hispanic families. In addition to tutoring, Caldwell Fellows plan enrichment activities for the students they serve. Team Mentor/TA: Davis Mooney
Social Issue: Nutrition Education/Food Insecurity
Project Partners: The Interfaith Food Shuttle / NCSU Nutrition Department
Location: The Raleigh Boy’s Club, 605 North Raleigh Boulevard
This group invests itself in getting to know the network of services provided through the Interfaith Food Shuttle and are trained to lead cooking / nutrition classes for middle school youth for an afterschool program at the Raleigh Boy’s Club. The team is led by Caldwell Fellows who are nutrition majors and follows a national curriculum called “Cooking Matters.” Components of each class include a gardening lesson, nutrition lesson, games, cooking and eating as a “family” at the end. Team Mentors/TAs: Hillary Spangler Assisted by: Luisa Jaramillo.
Social Issue: Health care/poverty
Agency/Project Partner: The Open Door Clinic of the Urban Ministries Center
Location: 1390 Capital Boulevard
Time: The clinic is open Monday – Thursday and volunteer shifts are 9AM-12PM, 1-4PM and 5-8PM.
Urban Ministries is an interfaith organization that strives to alleviate the effects of poverty in Wake County by meeting people’s basic needs for food, shelter and healthcare, providing services that promote self-sufficiency, building awareness of the issues of poverty within the larger community. One component of Urban Ministries is the Open Door Clinic, which aligns medical professional volunteers in the community with the needs of the poor and underserved. Students in this group may serve as Greeters, or Eligibility Interviewers, to welcome and sign in patients, locate and pull charts, complete necessary forms, and direct patients’ needs to the appropriate medical staff. Students fluent in Spanish may also serve as interpreters between patients and the medical staff. Team mentor/TA: Jessica Neville
Social Issue: Juvenile Justice
Agency/Project Partners: The NC Division of Juvenile Justice/ Mike Rieder, Deputy Secretary for Court Services, Department of Juvenile Justice
Location: Raleigh Community
The Caldwell Fellows have been invited by Mike Rieder to work with him and the Wake County Juvenile Justice system to help envision and pilot a program that will give young people in the court system sentencing alternatives that are positive rather than punitive. The students working on this team will create and pilot three interventions and envision a model to involve the young people being served to participate in the creation and reflection on the experience. Students on this team will receive in-depth exposure to the juvenile justice system, including visiting courtroom sessions, interviewing judges and other key players in the court system. Team Mentor/TA: Daniel Buchenberger Assisted by: Krystal Smith