Chicago Semester

Some Service-Learning at Chicago Semester

Posted by Rebecca Burwell in Around Town in CS Seminars in Service-Learning | Oct 28, 2010

The rain and wind seemed a little daunting as Janelle Kibbe and I and 11 students from my Vocations class ventured out to help with a community survey and Harvest Fest in Rogers Park on October 2nd. As part of a semester long service learning project, we have been working with the community based group Neighbors United in New Possibilities, directed by Rev. John Hoekwater.  The organization works with a coalition of groups in Rogers Park and part of our work has been assisting them with finding ways to help people access fresh food and grow their own fruits and vegetables, particularly households that don’t have access to land or local, organic foods.
 
That Saturday half of our group spent the afternoon canvassing the north part of the neighborhood, known as the Howard Street area, asking people questions related to their experience with growing food and what types of fruits and vegetables they would want access to. The other group of students worked with the Harvest Fest taking place in the community, put on by the same coalition of groups with whom Rev. Hoekwater works. The festival had hay rides, a pumpkin patch, and face painting that drew hundreds of kids despite the rain and wind.
 
Though the weather did not cooperate, students experienced and learned through their service how to talk to community members about their opinions on improving a neighborhood and witnessed groups collaborating to help build community among families in the area by providing activities for children and youth. Throughout the rest of the semester, the students will continue to do some surveying of the community, will be working in a neighborhood greenhouse run by John and others at Gale Academy and assist with putting ideas together for what to do next with the information they’ve obtained from the survey.