Suggestions

Recommendations for Agency

The first recommendation we have for the agency is to have more events that are "specialty" events. This will get the teens excited to come to TOPS and these events can even happen at low cost like going to tour the Museum of Natural Sciences. Having off site events will engage the teens more with their surroundings in the Raleigh area as well as engage them with each other through these off site experiences. We also recommend that the agency promote their events better whether those events be on site or off site. For instance, they have programs specifically designed for young women or for music yet these programs are not promoted well enough. Therefore, their programs have low participation and do not last long.

Another aspect that the agency could improve upon is catering to the teens through the use of social media. If the agency created a Facebook page or a Twitter handle then they could promote their events or any other information and it would be able to get to the teens faster. This would also improve their coverage and could help the TOPS program gain more teens. Lastly, if the agency used social media they could inform their participants of events and information in an interesting and engaging way rather than in flyers or postings.

Recommendations for Future SL Groups

For the next Service Learning Group we recommend to really talk to the different TOPS sites so ensure that there is a good turn out for the programs. We also recommend pulling from the same sites between the first and the second program so that some of the teens already have seen the PRT students and they will be more inclined to come. Lastly, ensure that both programs can accommodate anywhere from two to fifty participants because as we learned, you really do never know how many teens will decide to show up.

Our second recommendation for the next group is to get your equipment list and supplies early on in the process so that nobody is having to run around the day and getting the supplies. Also, using all the resources available is important when working with the City of Raleigh since they are such a huge resource. Therefore, make sure to constantly be checking that resource because you never know what you might find. With these tips and hard work, any group will be successful while working at TOPS.