On Wednesday the campus and community partners, members of our instructional team, visited COMS 463 class to get to know the students, and for the students to become acquainted with them.  They spoke about their motives and goals for being involved in this course, and gave some hopes and cautions about communicating about service-learning projects. 

From Erin we learned that the University of Calgary values CSL for student success and retention, and that service-learning is an important part of university ratings via the NSSE rating system (National Survey of Student Engagement) results published in Maclean's magazine.  She told a story of how a service-learning project and course blossomed into a variety of network connections that resulted in presentations and service placements via the United Way of Calgary and Area for the NOW Conference in conjunction with the Dalai Lama visit to Calgary, sponsored by the University of Calgary, in October 2009.

From Zoe we learned about her enthusiasm for service-learning and the importance of connecting Volunteerism and Community Service, and distinguishing it from the system of being sentenced to perform "hours of community service." She emphasized the choice and empowerment that come from high quality service learning experiences. She told us how forty or fifty requests come in for service-learning projects, and only seven or eight can be accommodated.  She is eager to learn how Volunteer Calgary, and indeed Volunteer Canada in general and its various branches, can become more connected to the service-learning movement in ways that build our local communities.