Many volunteer centers provide Service-Learning Support to students and faculty and facilitate their collaboration with agencies outside the college. Others are currently working to encourage the development of new service-learning programs on their campuses. The centers provide resources and advising to faculty who are interested in developing courses and curricula which integrate service work in the community with classroom instruction. Some centers provide monetary grants to faculty and students to facilitate the creation of and participation in service-learning initiatives. In some cases members of the volunteer center may work together with the professor of a service-learning course to provide the students with orientation and training and to aid in the reflection and learning process after the community involvement.
Some centers take on a slightly different approach to the concept of service learning.
Instead of focusing only on learning experiences linked to the classroom and academic credit these centers approach all service as a potential learning experience for students. These centers emphasize training and orientation, and all students community service experiences are accompanied by structured time for reflection. The centers encourage discussion about the social issues that are affecting the communities they volunteer in and work to increase awareness about such issues across campus. Most centers are housed in a physical space which includes room for a Resource Library . Here books, periodicals, on-line computer resources, brochures, videos, and other materials are made available to students and other members of the college and surrounding community.