An Incredible learning experience wtih invaluable lifetime memories
Community Service Learning
Through the volunteer Community Service Learning experience, students gain confidence and fluency in English. They help people in need and record their insights in essays and journal entries. This complete cultural immersion experience is also designed to deepen students’ understanding of themselves as a member of the world community and inspire them to continue doing community service work at home. This program can be arranged for groups or individuals upon request.
Environmental Protection
The United States is known as the largest energy consumer in the world. As a result community programs are needed to teach people how to save energy, recycle, and eat organic foods grown in ways that doesn’t harm the environment. Environmental Protection focuses on understanding local environmental issues and volunteering at some of the numerous programs in the Bay Area that promote environmental protection and the use of sustainable resources.
Duties
At the Ecology Center (EC), students are responsible for a variety of tasks from helping in the center store and library to assisting with special events around the city. Students may help with answering recycling system inquiries, maintaining store inventory and mailing, setting up special environmental lectures, Farmers Market displays, and other Ecology Center sponsored events such as the Earth Day Festival, the Indigenous Peoples’ Pow Wow, or Spice of Life Festival. Students may work with Berkeley High School students in the organic garden to promote understanding of sustainable agriculture. Students may also help assist with their free house energy audit service for home owners. Students may be involved in assisting in the building of “Green” houses and on the Green Team Program.
Sample Daily Schedule
10 am – 12 noon Seminar
1 - 3 pm Energy audits for Cal. Youth Energy Services
3 - 5 pm Gardening in BYA Garden
5 – 7pm Project Team Meeting
K-12 Education
K-12 Education is offered at various locations depending on availability, including public elementary schools in Berkeley, Albany and surrounding communities.
Duties
At elementary school in Berkeley and surrounding communities, interns serve as classroom assistants in grades 1 to 5. They help children with English and math assignments (advanced English proficiency interns), assist with art projects (low intermediate English proficiency interns), and help the teacher in the general operations of the class. Interns (appropriate for students with lower English proficiency) are matched with teachers and serve as classroom assistants and tutors. Students help in the classroom with small group work, give attention to individual students, help with student projects, etc. Teachers assign interns to projects appropriate to their level of English proficiency.
Sample Daily Schedule
9:00 – 12:00 noon Assist in elementary school classroom
12:00 - 1:00 pm Eat lunch & playground activities
1:00 – 2:00pm Assist in classroom
3:00 - 5:00 pm Internship Seminar with ESI instructor in Berkeley
5:00 – 7:00 pm Project Team Meeting
Glide Church & the Homeless
Located in downtown San Francisco, Glide Church services poor people in the community. Glide’s comprehensive programs seek to meet the basic human needs, providing prevention, intervention, and educational services. Glide provides services for many different constituencies from youth, to single parents, to senior citizens. Glide is a national leader in community service and has been visited several times by former President Bill Clinton, President Elect Barak Obama and many other prominent members of the community.
Duties
Students participate in a variety of ways at Glide. Glide provides three meals a day to the hungry and students work as dining room assistants. Helping with the very demanding lunch/dinner service in which over 1200 homeless attend per day is an eye-opening experience. Students participate in special meetings for seniors. Advanced students plan and give a presentation about their lives in their home country with a follow up discussion to the senior group. Low intermediate students demonstrate a craft (origami or calligraphy) to the seniors. Students also serve as class assistants in the after school youth program. They help school aged children with homework (advanced English proficiency interns), read to them, and assist with art projects (low intermediate English proficiency interns).
Sample Daily Schedule
8:30 am Take BART to San Francisco with escort
9:30 - 10:15 am Set up materials for presentation.
10:15 - 11:45 am Senior Social Circle –
Advanced students give an oral presentation about culture.
Intermediate students demonstrate a craft or game
12:00-1:30 pm Help serve lunch to over 200 homeless people in cafeteria.
2:00 pm Return to Berkeley with escort
3:00 - 5:00 pm Internship Seminar with ESI instructor in Berkeley
5:00 - 7:00 pm Project Team Meeting
Senior Services
Senior Services is offered at various locations in Berkeley and surrounding communities depending on availability. All work involves senior citizens who are 65 years old or older and who often require patience and clear communication skills, but have a wealth of life experience and cultural knowledge to share.
Duties
At the senior centers students take part in classes in which seniors do dance for exercise, do ceramic arts or write about their lives. Students share stories about their lives in their home country with seniors, interview seniors and write a short essay, act as assistants in the meal programs, set up the dining room, serve lunch to the seniors, and have conversation with them. Students also do in-person visits to senior centers for cultural exchange activities and round-robin communication interviews with seniors.
Sample Daily Schedule
9:00 – 12:00 am Interview selected seniors for research project
11:00 – 12 noon Give cultural presentation
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch service for seniors in cafeteria
1:00 – 1:30 pm Assist staff with clean-up
3:00 - 5:00 pm Internship Seminar with ESI instructor in Berkeley
7:00 - 9:00 pm Project Team Meeting
