Through this work, they learn firsthand about the societal and cultural forces that perpetuate as well as challenge inequalities in the United States and in other nations. Presently, WILL students are involved in internships at a domestic violence shelter, at a privately-funded organization that teaches skills to formerly homeless women, and at a home for abandoned children in Panama. Service Learning WILL students also become involved in community service through non-WILL classes and campus organizations. In recent years, the University of Richmond created the Service Learning Program to encourage student involvement in the community as well as faculty integration of community service into their courses. Briefly stated, service learning is community service, performed by students, as a part of a course curriculum.
Students learn best . . .
Learning starts with a problem and continues with the application of increasingly complex ideas and increasingly sophisticated skills to increasingly complicated problems. Service learning gives professors a way to add this crucial experiential component to their courses. This firsthand knowledge empowers them in a way that changes students' lives and the lives of others immeasurably. The difference between ordinary volunteer service and service learning is the act of reflection, encouraged by professors who provide the essential context for analysis of service activities. CSS focuses on working with formerly homeless women to help them develop a social support network and the job and life skills necessary to avoid future homelessness.