Community Engagement and Reflection

*** This assignment is not due until much later in the semester, but you need to be aware of it and begin planning for it now!!!

Objective:

To gain firsthand experience in community involvement and civic engagement by either participating in community service or attending a city government meeting. This assignment aims to enhance your understanding of community dynamics and the role of government, and to encourage reflection on your personal and civic responsibilities. All activities must occur during this semester and be completed by the project due date. You cannot get credit for things done last year or when you were a kid.

Assignment Options:

You have two options for completing this assignment. Choose one of the following:

Community Service:
- Complete at least 2 hours of community service with a local organization of your choice. Examples include volunteering at a food bank, animal shelter, community garden, or tutoring center.
City Government Meeting:
- Attend a city government meeting. This can be a city council meeting, school board meeting, planning commission meeting, or any other official local government meeting. For this assignment, the meeting can be virtual, but you must be able to prove your attendance (through the complete meeting). Email me with any questions about this.

Steps to Complete the Assignment:

Preparation:
- Research local organizations or city government meeting schedules to choose where you will complete your assignment.
- If choosing community service, contact the organization to arrange your volunteer hours.
- If choosing a city government meeting, check the meeting schedule, and ensure you know the location and time.
Participation:
- For community service, complete a minimum of 2 hours of volunteer work. Keep a record of your hours and tasks completed. You will need to have the person supervising you sign off on this form Download this formand submit a photo/copy of it. You will also need to submit a picture (or a bunch or video!!!) of yourself volunteering!!
- For the city government meeting, attend the entire meeting and take notes on the discussions and decisions made. The notes/minutes with decisions made will need to be typed up into a document and submitted with a picture of yourself at the meeting. If attending virtually, you will need to take time stamped photos of yourself with your computer logged into the virtual meeting!
Reflection Essay OR PowerPoint Presentation:
- Write a short reflective essay (approximately 500 words) about your experience OR create a PowerPoint presentation with at least 5-6 slides. Address the following questions:
  - For Community Service:
    - What organization did you volunteer with, and what was their mission?
    - What tasks did you perform during your volunteer hours?
    - How did this experience impact your understanding of community needs and your role in addressing them?
    - What challenges did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?
    - What insights or personal growth did you gain from this experience?
  - For City Government Meeting:
    - Which meeting did you attend, and what were the main topics discussed?
    - What decisions were made during the meeting, and what impact might they have on the community?
    - How did this experience enhance your understanding of local government processes and civic engagement?
    - What perspectives did you gain about the roles and responsibilities of officials and citizens?
    - What personal reflections or growth did you experience as a result of attending this meeting?
YOUR FINAL SUBMISSION SHOULD BE: CREATIVE!! Your essay OR powerpoint should show what you did/what meeting you attended. If you choose to do the essay, you should still include your pictures/videos you took at your community service or meeting. The essay or PP presentations should include people you met/worked with/heard from at the meetings. Any other fun or interesting things you learned during your experience. You may have attended a meeting and learned about something you did not know about and had to look up. That can be included. You may have done some gross work like picking up dog poo (yuck) and took pictures. Anything that will make your essay or presentation exciting and interesting is what I am looking for. Feel free to email me if you have questions about what to include in your presentation.
Submission:
- Submit your essay or presentation along with the documentation mentioned above of your community service hours or notes from the city government meeting.
- Ensure your essay OR PP presentation is well-organized, proofread, and written in first person (I think, I believe, I volunteered, etc).
- NO AI use is allowed at all. If any is detected, a 0 will be given with no chance to make it up.

Due Date:

The assignment due date is in Canvas on the Welcome to the Course Page and in the Canvas calendar. Late submissions may be subject to a penalty.

Evaluation:

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Completeness and thoroughness of the community service or meeting attendance.
Proof of attendance or participation
Depth of reflection and critical thinking demonstrated in the essay or presentation.
Clarity, organization, and writing quality of the essay. There should be no grammar or writing errors.
Creativeness and aesthetic of the presentation or essay.
Adherence to the assignment guidelines and due date.
No AI, thesaurus programs, or Grammerly are allowed for this assignment.

Additional Notes:

If you have any questions or need assistance in finding community service opportunities or city government meeting schedules, please contact me.
This assignment is designed to encourage active participation in your community and a deeper understanding of civic responsibility. Embrace the opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.

Good luck, and I look forward to reading your reflections and seeing your presentations!