Campus Name
Guilford College
Greensboro, NC (see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)
Campus Contacts
James Shields / jshields@guilford.edu / 336-316-2447
Juliet Carrington / carringtonjc@guilford.edu / 336-316-2447
Bonner Center for Community Learning
5800 W. Friendly Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27410
http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/cacl/index.html
Add Photos Here if you'd like (select Bonner logo and replace, size to 65-100 pixels square)
Issue Focus Area(s)
Immigration/Diversity (Multi-lingual needs)
Brief Overview
Guilford County has seen a dramatic shift in demographics in the past generation. The NC Triad growth in the last decade is a national pattern that represents a shift in our history of immigrant acculturation. The fast growth in population and the need for bilingual and bicultural services has created some challenges. Immigration issues related to changing and ineffective immigration laws, racial/religious profiling, drivers' license eligibility, and education for immigrant youth, all pose legal barriers to successful integration. Health disparities, language barriers, and providers' lack of knowledge of traditional practices for health and wellness, pose additional barriers to successful integration.
Guilford will concentrate its Serve 2.0 project on issues related to immigrants and refugees in Guilford County. They believe that web 2.0 tools can help Guilford College students and community partners bring about meaningful acculturation that respects all cultures. They plan to work with several community partners, all of which currently host Bonner Scholars and other student volunteers, building their capacity to integrate these tools in ways that broaden and deepen engagement by Guilford students and the campus (faculty and others).
Key Community Partners
- African Services Coalition -This organization helps recent African immigrants and refugees build new lives in Greensboro. From aiding in filling out forms, to trips to doctor's offices, to ESOL tutoring, to generally providing moral support.
- Glenhaven Multicultural Center - Programs include the After-school Program, At-Home Tutoring Program, Adult Literacy and Citizenship, Grant Writing, Elderly Outreach, Women's Programs, and Youth Program. Located about twenty minutes away from Guilford on the other side of downtown, this office serves Greensboro's Montagnard Dega population. The indigenous people of Vietnam's mountains, the Montagnards began seeking refuge in the U.S. back in the 1980's and their population in Greensboro alone has grown to 1,200. In the last five years, the program has grown to include African immigrants and refugees primarily from Sudan and Liberia.
- Glenwood ESL (URL?)- The Glenwood program is dedicated to the empowerment of individuals rather than the more traditional idea of community service being a handout for the needy. Learners come into the program with all levels of schooling, from elementary all the way to PhDs; while some might have been doctors or engineers in their home countries, in the US they are struggling to survive without English proficiency. Tutors recognize that their learners come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and seek to help empower them to help themselves. This creates a learner-centered environment in which the learners direct the tutoring sessions and both learners and tutors can benefit.
- Newcomers School - GCS Newcomers School serves recently arrived immigrant and refugee students in grades 3-12 who are novice English speakers. Guilford College students currently serve as Teacher’s assistants, Lunch buddies and help to coordinate the school’s community garden.
- Project HERE (URL?)– The site promotes academic excellence in the Hispanic community through various tutoring and mentoring programs. For the last two years, Project HERE has sponsored the “Soy un Lider” conference for Hispanic youth with an interest in college.
Feel free to add other URL links, if they have them.
(see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)
If a site is missing from map, please email address to Ariane Hoy (ahoy@bonner.org)
Social Media Tools to Be Used
Facebook, videos, YouTube, Wikis, Blogs
Context and Rationale (Explanation of Tools)
They plan to work with each of the sites to integrate the following tools:
- Blogs- Blogs for each site will serve several purposes. We will utilize them to inform the community about issues and events related to the site. Each site will determine how to use Blogs to communicate to each site’s constituency. We intend to create alternative language sites for those who don’t speak English or have English as a second language.
- Facebook- Facebook will be used to create online communities at each site, and inform other of events and related issues. I t will also be a valuable recruitment tool for the service sites.
- Wikis- By creating wikis for each site we want to create an opportunity for the community (students, faculty, community partners) to work together on policy briefs that will lead to the creation of effective strategies to deal with the challenges faced by the immigrant/ refugee community.
- Youtube - we will post our videos from various service sites on Youtube.
- Videos – Videos wil be used in a number of ways: instructional videos for tutors and learners, introduce each site to the community. We want to instruct community members on how to use Web 2.0 tools through video. Community members will be given the opportunity to create videos with content they choose.
Link to Campus Organizing Strategies
Guilford's strategy will enhance the work that is already being conducted by Bonner Scholars and other Guilford student volunteers through site-based teams. In addition, they hope to link this Serve 2.0 work with issue-based organizing and other forms of service-learning, including the development of policy research projects and issue briefs.
Goals of Initiative
- Establish Facebook groups for each of the five sites involved in project.
Objective: Facebook groups used by Guilford students, community partners and
related agencies to share information, reflections, calendar of events
- Develop Blogs for each project site
Objective: Each site will have a blog maintained by Guilford student
coordinator, community partner and members of service community.
Objective: Develop alternative language blogs for members of service site
community.
- Develop issue specific Wiki pages for each site
Objective: Host information session on policy issues briefs for students, faculty
and community partners
Objective: Establish working groups for each site.
- Create information and instructional videos about and for each site
Objective: Project Coordinators will work with community partners to develop video about their sites.
Objective: Project Coordinators work with community partners to determine need for additional videos. (training/instructional)
- Increase awareness of Guilford College service efforts and issues related to those efforts.
Objective: Work with campus IT and College relations departments to establish links on college website to project blogs, wiki, videos.
Objective: Create reciprocal links with community partner websites.
Key Activities and Timelines
February 2009
- Convene Serve 2.0 committee, designate sub committees for blogs, videos, and wikis
- Assess Five sites computer needs
- First reports from sub committees 2/21
- Create Facebook groups by 2/21
- Policy brief information session held
- Meet with IT&S (Information Technology and services) to discuss providing older computers from the college with the needed software to distribute to the five sites.
March 2009
- Work has begun on videos
- Blogs are online
- Working groups meet, Wiki pages created
- Links to college and community partners websites from blogs established
- Serve 2.0 committee meets, evaluate work progress thus far
April 2009
- Begin work on SLI presentation
- Plan for summer working group
- First videos online
May- July 2009
- Serve 2.0 summer work group
- Continue work on policy briefs
- Maintain blogs, Facebook groups
- Blogging project with participants in Glenhaven summer camp
Fall 2009
- Meeting of Serve 2.0 group
- Presentation of policy work to the community
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