2020 has been a year of hard work and agility for the CCG! Covid-19 and it's effects on our campus community have kept us on our toes but we cannot think of a better campus and community to weather a global pandemic with. Thanks to the generous and innovative people associated with the CCG we have continued our efforts to make eastern Union County a great place to live, work and study!

We are proud of our accomplishments in 2020, and excited to share what we have been up to!

2020 has seen new additions to our CCG family! The CCG consists of three Coordinators, an administrative assistant, our 'Grad' student and VISTA, Dedicated Student Interns, Past and Present Project Managers, CLI Mentors, Apprentices and Friends.

We challenged the status quo by….

• Interconnecting social, ecological, and economic wellbeing
• Focusing on the Now and the Future (Inter-generational)
• Believing in the Power of We - Our Participatory Process (Knowledge Democracy)

Wingate University is committed to Faith, Knowledge and Service as a way to cultivate educated, ethical and productive global citizens. The way that the CCG contributes to this mission is to leverage our gifts:

• Our students
• Our institution of higher education (people, processes, and spaces)
• Our researchers, data collectors, project managers, meaning makers, historians, and storytellers

Chartwells: We have a new and vibrant partnership with Chartwells on campus! Together we are accomplishing so much all ready.

• They have made it possible to be a Fair trade university – one of three in NC
• Development of Food Waste Program in partnership with the CCG
• Surplus Food Donation Program - in partnership with Heart for Monroe and RSOs, they are paving the way for distributing our food surplus to the community with the help of CCG partners.
• Aluminum Can Recycling - supporting families impacted by fire, in partnership with local Fire Stations
• They are now a Service Learning Partner with GPS 310 Ethics - working with a team of students to make a better system of communication!

VISTA and NC Campus Compact: Our VISTA Hannah Fraser is part of the NC Campus Compact Hunger Corp and since her arrival August 3rd, she has made such an impact! Some highlights include:

• Helped create the first UC Food Council with representatives from Government, Business, Agriculture, Education, Non-Profits, Health Agencies, and other interested parties
• Pitched a Grant for a UC Food Council website and was awarded the highest amount: $4,519
• Working with SL GPS 310 students to draft bylaws and norms for the Food Council and provide education for the Food Council Website
• Provide nutritional education for Non-Profits and other community partners
• Helping to create our Educational Community Garden in partnership with the Town of Wingate and the NC Extension Office.

To date we have had 73 hours of programming involving more than 700 people just this semester:

• 13 Lyceum & Learning Series

• 3 Alien Events

• 3 Apprentice Workshops

• 2 Academic Presentations

• 1 Town Hall Meeting

• 4 Food Council meetings

"25% of college students find their first job after college directly through their college volunteering, internship, or employer." (Arum & Roksa, 2014)

“Requiring service-learning would decrease the need for under-prepared students to enter college already possessing the cultural capital needed to successfully navigate the collegiate journey.” (Mungo, 2017)

One of the most rewarding part of the CCG is student involvement. This comes in many forms and we loved highlighting our superstar students in special newsletters, at ROOTS summits and other arenas.

CHALK East: This student initiative, originated and run by WU undergrad Izzy Walle, has been serving our teachers in Title one schools since last year. She has made quite an impact with her monthly distribution events -- even during COVID her work has been invaluable!

Impact: 2019-2020 -

• $9800 funds donated
• $2500 supplies donated
• 177 school supply bags distributed to teachers at Wingate Elementary, East Union Middle, Forest Hills HS, and Union Elementary.
• Link to White Paper

Leadership Programing: Our Student Leadership Position fosters a peer development model of leadership – Adden Howard is a guide for any student interested in becoming involved with the CCG. He hosts open houses and does follow up, is a facilitator for the ALIEN program, and a CCG space supervisor twice a week -- something we hope our RSO’s can make use of in the near future! Read more about the ALIEN Program HERE.

Cultural Leadership Intern (CLI) Program: Our Cultural Leadership Intern (CLI) Program is a new project for this Fall. Their focus is to grow with staff & faculty mentors and then implement a DEI project in the Spring semester.

• Rania Badran works with Paige Rawson in the areas of DEI and interfaith.
• Tyler Riley works with Marcus Kirkland on DEI work within Athletics
• Zyoin Boger works with Chelsea Kaufman on DEI work associated with student life and culture
• Somya Dasilva works with Marta Falcon in the ARC on DEI and representation in tutoring programming and student support
• Gabriela Erazo works with NaTasha Schiller on diversity research and supporting student voices on campus

CCG Coordinator Student Interns: Students working with CCG coordinators, are gaining valuable skills and opportunities: Dr. Lacey Ritter had 8 students working with her to develop her Sociology of Aging SLCE course and currently, Andrea Escate Saavedra and Brandy Fuentes Delgado have worked with Dr. Candy Lapan to develop teaching materials for our CCG Apprenticeship program and SLCE instructors. Five student interns are working with Paige Rawson to develop community partnerships and programming for her upcoming SL course focusing on Race, Sexuality, Gender and Religion. Erika Niland works with two undergraduates, Nathan Hughes (garden manager) and Christopher Leonard (recycling and compost manager), and both are getting valuable experience working with both campus and community partners.

We are flexible and anticipate that everyday ideas can walk through the door – it is our hope that the cultivation of entrepreneurial ideas become embedded into our CCG life!

The CCG is passionate about developing Service Learning opportunities at Wingate University! Dr. Wright's research with COPIL (a primer to be published in February 2021) and preliminary data from Dr. Lapan’s Service Learning (SL) course last semester show that students are more successful, learn important skills, and retain at higher rates than students who do not partake in SL courses, consistent with previous research on the topic.

Dr. Candy Lapan, our Service Learning & Community Engagement Coordinator, has expertise and training in SL pedagogy from her post doctoral research at University of Virginia Center for Advanced Study of Teaching & Learning (CASTL). Her SL course "Adult and Aging Psychology" had significantly higher final course grades than the control class.

To read more about Dr. Lapan's findings, read her white paper here.

To Listen to Dr. Ritter's student's blog artifacts from her SOC 353 Sociology of Aging SL course, connect at this LINK.

Service-learning (SL) is an educational approach that combines classroom learning with community service projects in order to provide a more wholistic educational experience. Service Learning programs are distinguished from other approaches to experiential education by their intention to benefit the provider and the recipient of the service equally, as well as to ensure equal focus on both the service being provided and the learning that is occurring.

"Service-learning as a requirement in general education courses may be a unique and fiscally responsible approach to assist with improving other institutional outcomes such as preparation for working in the real-world, improved critical thinking and complex reasoning, lifelong dedication to helping others, and enhanced communication skills." (Eyler & Giles, 1999)

Silver Linings: The Sociology of Aging

Food for Thought: Understanding Food Security on Wingate’s Campus

What does a Non-profit Add to a Local Economy?

At the heart of the CCG is our campus and community! There are so many awesome individuals who take part in our mission, as well as so many others with the potential to get involved! 2020 has been a year of digital connection, and we are proud of the ways we have adapted in order to stay connected with YOU, our friends and neighbors!

This year alone, the CCG has produced 73 hours of CCG programming, including audio and video podcasts, newsletters, and learning modules involving more than 700 people!

Want to join us on an episode of Against the Grain?

Sign up for a time that works for you at this link!

Students and Community Partners can sign up for our Partnership Portal, which helps connect students with volunteer opportunities around the community!

We are re-starting our Partnership Portal initiatives and are developing service portfolios of cornerstone partners to aid them in posting service opportunities and keeping their profiles on the portal current and interesting. Once COVID precautions are lifted, we will be offering more service opportunities on the portal and education for our students and partners to make use of this great resource more effectively.

Unsure of how to start your own project? Want to join in on an already-running project? Want to partner on with us on an event? Reach out to us at the following link to complete our CCG Interest Form: https://forms.gle/7aqxTzqrhmEDr8Rp7

Become a Service Learning Apprentice!

• Submit a CCG Apprenticeship Application and Proposal. The application can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeZpVWZudTF2HkdmVmoHZ8vRQEndpoIOR42vqM2lasmxiiZw/viewform?usp=sf_link

• In the application you will be asked to attach the following:

• A current CV or resume

• An Apprenticeship Proposal, found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nMQmgHltYZ5WFWYa4T2T8BHMuUuoKIlouIa7R5fovck/edit?usp=sharing