Carleton College: Acting in the Community Together: Service at Carleton and Beyond

Service at Carleton and Beyond

Over half of the Carleton student population participates in ACT service projects while at Carleton and a significant percentage of our alumni continue with this service commitment through their support of area non-profits.

Listed below are a few links which may be of interest to students and recent graduates who would like to know more about service opportunities available outside of Carleton. They include grant announcements, job opportunities, and local service organizations.

Corporation for National Service
Echoing Green
Habitat for Humanity International
Hennepin Volunteers
The Hunger Site
Idealist: Action without Borders
Lutheran Volunteer Corps
Oxfam America
Peace Corps
Teach for America
Truman Scholarships
United Way

http://www.cns.gov/ -- The Corporation for National Service is the government organization which runs AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps*VISTA, NCCC, and SeniorCorps. They also act as a grant distribution center and an information clearinghouse.

logo for CNS

http://www.echoinggreen.org/ -- echoing green Public Service Fellowships are $60,000 grants awarded each year for people to create a sustainable non-profit organization in conjunction with a current non-profit. Applications are usually available in early Fall and are due in November. Candace Lautt is the campus representative for Carleton College. If you are a student or recent graduate and you want more information or an application, e-mail her by clicking here.

logo for echoing green

http://www.habitat.org/ -- Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization which works to provide affordable housing to families in need. Volunteer and salaried positions are available for both the national and international branches of the organization.

www.co.hennepin.mn.us/wvolop.html -- Hennepin County provides some great volunteer opportunities in the Twin Cities. Check out their web site. Especially interesting is their "Economic Assistance Volunteer Services" program, where volunteers assist residents in making the transition from welfare to work.

thehungersite.com -- You can make a difference in the life of a hungry person right now! Click on the Hunger Site. Every time you click on this site, money for several cups of food is donated by the site's sponsors to the United Nations World Food Program. Each computer is allowed one click per day. It is easy and it is legitimate.

www.idealist.org -- Idealist is a project of Action without Borders. On Idealist you will find over 52,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location, or mission, thousands of volunteer opportunities around the world, and a nonprofit career center on the web with hundreds of job and internship listings.

www.lutheranvolunteercorps.org -- The Lutheran Volunteer Corps is a year-long service program for people 21 and over seeking to unite faith, social justice, community living, and simplicity. Volunteers are matched with non-profit organizations in ten metropolitan areas across the United States. They work full-time in various positions ranging from direct social services, to political advocacy, community organizing, education, and activism while living in intentional community.

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/ -- Oxfam America is a private organization which supports long-term solutions to hunger around the world. They advertise job placements and service opportunities. If you're looking to get out of the United States, this may be worth looking into.

logo for oxfam

www.peacecorps.gov -- A two year commitment to serve in a foreign country. The application process is long so check it out early!

logo for peace corps

http://www.teachforamerica.org/ Teach For America is building the movement to address this injustice by calling upon our country's most promising future leaders to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and to become lifelong advocates for change.

http://www.truman.gov -- The Truman Scholarship looks to find and recognize college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the non-profit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public service. The scholarship is given yearly to between 75 and 80 college juniors. Recipients receive $3,000 for their senior year and $27,000 for graduate studies. Information and applications are available on their web site. Applications are typically due in January or February.

logo for truman scholarship

One of the best ways to find volunteer opportunities in the Twin Cities is through the United Way. Their web sites also offer information on their services and various ways you can contribute time and/or money. Check out the Minneapolis and St. Paul web site.

http://www.unitedwaytwincities.org

Also, Carleton's Career Center is an excellent resource for internship and career information. They have access to great non-profit databases that can be used for discovering employment opportunities in these fields.

The Northfield Chamber of Commerce also has a web page that may be of interest to students and recent grads.