U-M’s Home of Service Learning
For more than a decade, the Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning at the University of Michigan has been hosting a variety of programs and services for students and assisting faculty in the development of engaged learning in their courses and programs, and supporting community collaborations both locally and globally. Their growing Engaged Learning Partnerships program is currently working with U-M faculty from 19 departments across campus.
Through its SERVE office, Alternative Breaks, service advising, K-12 Initiatives, America Reads, and grants, scholarships and fellowships, the center provides vital guidance and support for U-M students who want to get involved in community engagement and social justice work.
Many of these projects are working with partners in Detroit. A great example of this is America Reads. Through this program, the center is helping to develop the literacy skills and confidence of youth in grades K-3. U-M students are tutoring children in Detroit Public Schools and Ypsilanti Community Schools, providing individualized instruction and attention.
Through the center’s Literacy Initiatives, 90 student volunteers served 680 elementary and secondary students and 15 community partners in 2014.
There were 100 tutors at seven Detroit and Ypsilanti public schools through the America Reads program.
Each year, America Reads volunteers provide an estimated 33,600 service hours.
“Ginsberg Center Literacy Initiatives add capacity and value to educational settings and have an intentional focus on academically vulnerable students in Southeast Michigan.”
