Combining Streams in South Carolina
By Kathy Gibson Carter, Learn and Serve Coordinator, South Carolina Department of Education
WINTER 1997 (archived information - please note the date of publication)
Almost all streams of service in South Carolina are involved in helping the state implement service-learning. AmeriCorps*VISTA members have been trained in service-learning concepts and theories, and many of them are placed in school districts. There, they play a vital role in helping to mobilize resources in their communities.
For the past three years, the South Carolina State Commission has funded service-learning coordinators with AmeriCorps funds. Twenty-two members have each been placed in a different school district within three regions of the state to assist in the development of service-learning programs. Working with three institutions of higher education, the Corps members assist teachers in placing youth in the community, supervising projects, leading discussions, and collecting data. Many members also provide technical assistance and training to teachers in their school or district.
A key to this successful collaboration has been cross-training among the streams of service. AmeriCorps members and Learn and Serve Higher Education personnel have been trained as service-learning ambassadors, and are a vital part of the state's service-learning network.
Connecting Programs
South Carolina has also initiated two other programs which contribute to cooperative service. One is called Process for Effective Resource Collaboration, or PERC, which is a framework for planning that can be modified to adjust to meet the needs of communities, agencies, and school districts. The intent of PERC is to engage people to plan for alliance -- to stimulate them to look for ways their program can connect to another program. These alliances strengthen service delivery, and in so doing, enhance existing services and create additional resources. PERC is being implemented in communities throughout the state.
Intergenerational Community Service
The other program instituted by South Carolina is called Linking Intergenerational Networks in Communities (LINC). This collaboration pairs senior adults -- some from the RSVP program and others from the community at large -- with Learn and Serve students. Neither senior nor student does service for each other; together they serve as a team in the community.
By combining resources within the various streams of service, collaborating with higher education, and recruiting volunteers from the community, the people of South Carolina benefit. Clearly, the whole of working together is greater than the sum of the parts.
