OCE Quick Facts
- A non-profit organization established in 1990
- Supported through grants & university dollars
- All services are provided by volunteers
- Collaboration with community is critical
- Services provided meet real community needs
- Promotes civic engagement & service-learning
- 500%+ increase in UMD student participation since 1997
- Over 97% P - 12 children tutored achieved improvements
- Teachers noted increased self-esteem, improved attitudes towards learning, and more timely completion of assignments
- Volunteer opportunities help UMD students complete required hours for teacher education program admission
- Courses which require a service-learning experience are satisfied through the Office of Civic Engagement.
Volunteer Opportunity
We are looking for someone to help with adult literacy. There is an individual in the community that is interested in learning how to read. If you or someone you know is interested in helping with this please contact Dylan Savall at 218-726-8645 or by email at sava0089@d.umn.edu.
What's Happening
- In Spring of 2009 Brenda Butterfield's Developmental Psychology students participated in the Reality Psychology Service Learning project. Her students completed over 2,000 hours of service with 70% of the class completing more hours than were required. Students served at one of the following sites: Kenwood Edison, Raleigh Edison, Arrowhead Juvenile Center, Duluth Head Start program, as well as the Lowell, Grant and Nettleton Compass programs. Here are what some of the students who participated in the project had to say:
“This experience has really changed my life and some days broke my heart! Some days the stories and the things that some of the children would say really touched me. It makes me want to make a difference in all of those kids’ lives and made me want them to know that they are cared for and loved.” -Jenna A.
“Looking back I feel very lucky to see the bad weather as my only major challenge for this service project. Completing it has been one of the most satisfying things I have done in my college career at UMD.” -Kesha B.
“Overall I think this was a great thing to do for this class and I think that it helps connect the dots to what we learn in class very well. As we were learning about development it was good to go once a week and actually see some of these things happening in real life. Not only is it good for that reason but it also goes to a great cause. The kids benefit just as much as we do. I was fortunate enough to get around 20 hours of service time and feel that every minute was worth it. I plan on going back next semester to continue volunteering because I enjoy it so much. At first I thought this was just going to add more stress to my life but in all actuality it helped relieve some of my stress that comes along with college life. I feel like this helped break up the class and make it more interesting and am very glad that I took this class because of the reality psychology volunteering.” -Ross J.
“I think that one of the greatest highlights of my service learning time was finding out that the boy that I spend most time with really looked forward to seeing me. I point this out because his teachers told me that he missed school often, however he never missed Wednesdays-when I was there. It really made me feel great that he looked forward to seeing me that much.” -Sophia J.
“Getting that shy, “bye” from my student as I left the first day of volunteering to having her hug my legs so tight saying, “don’t leave” on the last day was one of the greatest experiences I have had in life.” -Melissa K.
- In 2005 David Beard received a grant from the UMD Office of Civic Engagement. That project developed into a CURA grant, which developed into a 9-12 grade curriculum on the lynching in Duluth.
Listen to this broadcast on KUWS (Wisconsin Public Radio) to see what a difference you can make by engaging with the community. (Here is a shorter broadcast on the subject from WPR- plays in RealPlayer.)
What is the Office of Civic Engagement?
The Office of Civic Engagement, which includes what was formerly known as The Darland Connection, the Darland Intergenerational Program and the Darland Center, is a nonprofit organization created to honor the memory and good works of University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Chancellors Emeritus Raymond and Jewell Darland.
How to become a volunteer or tutor
If you are interested in volunteering or tutoring, you may begin the process by calling (218) 726-6630 between the hours of 9am-4pm on weekdays.
You will be calling this number to schedule an appointment with an Office of Civic Engagement volunteer coordinator, so please prepare the times you are available for this meeting prior to calling.
The meeting
process is brief and involves completing an application, orientation and placement.
Once you have called us and have spoken with someone to make an appointment, your scheduled meeting will take place at UMD, in Bohannon Hall 209.
How to request a volunteer or tutor
- If you are from a community agency and are looking for volunteers, please fill out a volunteer request form.
- If you are a teacher/parent/counselor interested in setting up a tutor for your student, child or classroom please feel free to use our online tutor request form to request a UMD student tutor.
- If you would like additional information, please contact Nelle Rhicard at (218) 726-7125 or nrhicard@d.umn.edu.