Building Character Through Community Service: Strategies to Implement the Missing Element in Education

Developing a community service project for middle school students can be a daunting task, and coordinating the large number of contacts necessary for the project to be successful is often overwhelming. .Building Character through Community Service: Strategies to Implement the Missing Element in Education provides materials and guidance to simplify this process and ensure its success. Included are sample letters, worksheets, lesson plans, and other documents needed to set up a community service project, whether it is a one-day event or a yearlong activity. Suggestions for the timing of the activity, making connections with agencies, grouping students, recruiting chaperones, arranging for transportation and evaluation are presented, along with in-house activities, strategies for publicizing an event, and useful websites and references. This workbook is designed for middle and high school educators and administrators in public and private schools.

Developing a community service project for middle school students can be a daunting task. The sheer number of contacts necessary for the project to be successful can be overwhelming. This manual will provide materials and guidance to simplify this process and ensure its success.

Margaret Rizzo has been a middle school library media specialist for more than three decades. For several years, she also served as District Department Chair of the Library Media Department. During her time in the middle school, she co-advised the National Junior Honor Society and organized many community service activities for middle school students. Joyce Brown has taught family and consumer science for the past thirty and is a member of the New York State Association of Family and Consumer Science Educators. Both authors have coordinated a middle school community service day for the past ten years. They are also coadvisors for the National Junior Honor Society, an organization that promotes character, leadership, scholarship, and service to the community.