You only have to look to the activities of those service groups currently in existence and those constantly being formed, as well as the establishment of the UCSC, for the proof. The experiences of the student volunteer leaders suggest that much of Obama's vision is already being realized. Students like fourth-year psychology concentrator Wendy Lichtenthal have forged connections beyond the Midway. The group has also developed partnerships with community organizations, including the Howard Brown Health Center on the North Side, Open Hand Chicago on the South Side, and the Chicago Women's AIDS Project on the North Side. And fourth-year biology concentrator Jeff Yuan has recruited about 30 students to aid Cook County social workers serving children in foster care through the U of C chapter of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which he chartered in the fall of 1996.
Community service is another form of education that helps make students more complete people.
In addition to these newly formed student groups, other existing student volunteer organizations have continued to move their missions forward. Previously, the group had been serving only one school. I have also gotten out of Hyde Park and met some really interesting people with stories to tell that I wouldn't hear here. Still other student groups continue to build on past years' efforts to support local housing and economic development initiatives. For example, on a Saturday morning in May, Students for Cooperation, which represents student housing cooperatives, joined with the campus Habitat for Humanity chapter and Woodlawn Development Associates, a nonprofit community development organization, to help rehab a mixed-income residential building a few blocks from campus on Kimbark Avenue.