Community Service Center

Community Service Center Mid Way Report 2025

Annual Report

Community Service Assistants (CSAs) are students, ideally in their first or second year at Western and the first in their family to attend a four-year university (i.e. first-generation student), who are dedicated to bettering their community through learning together and applying that learning in a non-profit setting. CSAs do not need to have previous experience with community engagement work but do need to have some experience in basic event planning and/or leadership roles as they will work together to create important events for the Western and Bellingham community including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day and Earth Week. CSAs will meet weekly with the Community Service Center office team, attend weekly professional development sessions, complete tasks during weekly office hours, and complete at least one hour per week of unpaid volunteer work.  They are enrolled as AmeriCorps Volunteers through the Coalition for the Public Good program and complete a total of 300 hours of service.

There are 3 roles that CSA's can fill: Major Events (lead coordinator for MLK Day, Earth Week, and Volunteer Fairs), Peer Educator (writing newsletters and educating the campus community on various topics), and Service Learning (managing engagement with academic areas and clubs). Students will not be hired into one of these roles, but each CSA will decide which one they want to fill, which can then be changed each quarter to allow a holistic experience.

To apply, students will submit a form expressing their interest and will need to have been awarded Work-Study through Financial Aid. Selected students will also be enrolled with AmeriCorps which includes completing fingerprinting and a background check to serve as a Volunteer.

Check the Work Study Center jobs listing in Spring quarter and throughout summer for openings and instructions to apply.

AmeriCorps Volunteers are granted a $1565.08 education award at the completion of 300 hours of service which includes meetings, professional development, and community hours. CSAs are also paid twice monthly using their Work-Study Financial Aid award at $21.90/hour, not to exceed their award limits per quarter.

By serving as a Community Service Assistant, students will be able to:

• Identify their leadership strengths and challenges using a cultural capital framework
• Implement creative activities with other staff members that are aligned with personal values and support the mission of the office
• Articulate in their own words the connection between traditional leadership skills, cultural capital, volunteerism and community engagement, and career development

Students at Western have opportunities to complete community engagement hours on their own through club involvement and/or as service learning in an academic setting. This program is a mix of all of that but with the unique addition of being paid for labor to complete major event planning in a team setting and be supported as an AmeriCorps Volunteer with networking, professional development, and an educational award. This program includes a regular professional development where learning occurs as described below in the Pillars of Learning section. This is not a job, not a class, and not a club. It is a truly unique opportunity like no other available on campus.

The following breaks down each quarter and its goals and learning objectives.

Fall Quarter:

• Building the team through activities designed to learn more about those in the group, first with basic introductions then diving deeper into personalities, strengths, challenges, backgrounds, and identities that each member embodies.
• Introduce leadership and personality traits through simple assessments such as True Colors.
• Learn about the Cultural Wealth model by Dr. Tara Yosso and how each capital presents in our daily lives.
• Discuss the decolonization of community service so that we are practicing contemporary critical service engagement.
• Plan service activities for the community Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day event

Winter Quarter:

• Finalize, execute, and reflect on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day event
• Discuss career development, specifically resume and cover letter writing, and incorporating community engagement into a profile
• Plan activities for Earth Week

Spring Quarter:

• Finalize, execute, and reflect on Earth Week events
• Dive deeper into leadership and team building skills using Dr. Brene Brown's Dare to Lead book and exercises
• Reflect and tie together leadership, community engagement, and career development