Valentine's month brings chance for new connections in service, as well as love
Janel Shoun |
That’s what Lipscomb University faculty recently learned at a networking session for community service organizations conducted “speed-dating” style on campus.
SALT is a large undertaking that will involve the entire campus community in service-learning goals, so it’s important for all faculty to have a first-hand knowledge of the possible service opportunities out there that could be married to academic projects to create service-learning outcomes, Shatzer said.
Like a fellow attending his prom stag, the wealth of possible partners may have seemed overwhelming at first, but the speed-dating format – everyone pairing off and talking for just five minutes at a time – made it possible to network with everyone in a short amount of time.
“The value of it for me was that there were so many people in the room,” said Alan Bradshaw, associate professor of physics. “When you first went in, you thought, ‘Man, I can’t talk to all these people.’ But it was also encouraging that there are so many connections you can make. I had no idea there were so many people interested in partnering with Lipscomb.”
Jim Thomas, professor of communication, was lucky enough to find three possible partners. He’s exploring the possibility of having senior communications students spend time during “Communication in Leadership” next fall creating a workshop for at-risk teen-agers to teach them job interview, language and social skills.
“I made three specific contacts with individuals who can provide good opportunities for our students whom I never would have met otherwise. It was a good match,” Thomas said.
Such matches are important to Lipscomb’s future in service learning. When it is fully implemented throughout the undergraduate student body, SALT will contribute approximately 100,000 hours of service to the community with each cohort of undergraduate students. That level of volunteerism would pump $1.88 million worth of service work into the local community every four years, said Shatzer.
That’s a lot of connections that need to be made. Community groups that participated in the “speed-dating” networking event included:
| Matthew 25 Faith Family Clinic Siloam Family Health Center Nashville Rescue Mission Christian Women’s Job Corps Rape & Sexual Abuse Center Lakeshore Estates Open Source Teaching Project Lakeshore Wedgewood |
Arthritis Foundation Habitat for Humanity Lakeshore Heartland Nursing Center Youth Encouragement Services Big Brothers Big Sisters Oasis Center CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Genesis Program Character Counts Nashville Youth Life Learning Centers |
“A lot of community people liked the fact they got to meet so many different people in a short amount of time,” Shatzer said. “There was a significant opportunity to engage one-on-one, to really have a conversation. Most people felt they left with some good starting points.”
February’s event is the first of several Shatzer plans to hold to connect faculty with their ideal non-profit mate. Later this semester she plans to host a networking event for an individual academic department with agencies that could fit its specific needs.