Leadership and Service Learning

 

 

How Community Organizations Should Prepare For Hosting Service and Volunteer Opportunities

The Tallahassee community is an integral part of the service and volunteer experience for FAMU students.   The community provides students with experiential learning opportunities that directly impact the people of Tallahassee.  When engaging FAMU students for service and volunteer projects in Tallahassee there are some things community organizations and organizers should do to prepare.

  • Identify a volunteer supervisor/contact person.  This person will be responsible for working with student volunteers.
    • Conducting a volunteer orientation or training
    • Supervising the students during the service/volunteer activity
    • Tracking student hours
    • Approving (or denying) involvement entries in iStrike. This requires an official email address (ie jon.doe@famu.edu).  Gmail, Yahoo or other free email services accounts are not acceptable.
  • Conduct a orientation or workshop.  This will be your opportunity to prepare students for the demands of the service/volunteer activity.
    • Introduce the supervisor/contact person
    • Explain volunteer expectations
    • Explain the time commitments
    • Explain how hours should be documented on site
    • Explain the deadline for submitting the involvement hours on iStirke
  • Collect emergency contact information. When on site a student may experience a crisis that will require you to contact someone who knows the student personally. 
  • Submit a Service & Volunteer Announcement Request. Approved requests will be posted on iStrike and emailed to all FAMU students that have completed the ESUA Leadership & Service Learning Orientation.  

How Students Should Prepare for Service and Volunteering

Community service and volunteer opportunities provide students with personal and professional development experiences that contribute to the overall development of the student.  This type of development is critical to the production of successful graduates and professionals.  In support of this developmental principal FAMU students are required to complete service/volunteer hours for certain academic and scholarship programs.  

  • Complete your iStrike account profile.  iStrike is the online system managed by Efferson Student Union & Activities in which students must document their service/volunteer hours. 
  • Attend an ESUA Leadership & Service Learning Orientation Session. Although attendance is not required in order to receive credit for service/volunteer hours participation in a LSL Orientation will provide students with useful information.
    • How to be an effective volunteer on campus and in the community
    • Access to service/volunteer opportunities sponsored by ESUA, campus partners and community partners.
  • Attend orientation/training offered by the organization providing service/volunteer opportunity. This will help you to see if the opportunity meets your personal and professional goals. 
    • Identify the project supervisor
    • Identify uniforms and/or required attire
    • Identify how service/volunteer hours are recorded
  • Carry yourself professionally at all times. Participation in service/volunteer activities are a reflection on you as an individual and FAMU. 
    • If you cannot meet the requirements communicate that supervisor. 
    • Follow all rules and procedures set by supervisors to ensure your safety and to fully understand the task at hand. 
  • Document hours in iStrike immediately. This will help to ensure that your hours are reported to the Registrar in the next reporting cycle. Some organizations have deadlines as to when they will validate/approve service/volunteer hours.
  • Educate supervisors with the FAMU/iStrike procedures.  In many cases service/volunteer hours are not reported to the Registrar because they have not been approved by the supervisor/contact person indicated in iStrike.
    • Make them aware of the email notifications they will receive from iStrike/Orgsync (no-reply@orgsync.com).
    • Make them aware of the reporting cycle and how soon you need them to respond.
  • Follow up on service/volunteer entries.  It is your responsibility to verify that your service/volunteer hours are accurately reflected on your transcript. 
    • Review your involvement hours in your iStrike account to see if they have been approved by the supervisor/contact person.
    • Contact supervisors/contact persons if they have not approved your service/volunteer hours.
    • Review your transcripts each month to verify that all hours are documented.
  • Things to remember
    • Supervisors/contact persons must use business or professional email addresses when approving service/volunteer hours.  Personal email address such as jondoe@gmail.com or jane_doe@yahoo.com cannot be verified for accuracy.  Any service/volunteer hour entries using personal email addressed will be automatically denied.  Service/Volunteer hours can be submitted only in the involvement section of iStrike.  Paper, email, or verbal verification are not accepted. 
    • If for some reason your service/volunteer hours are not recorded accurately on your transcript please complete a Service/Volunteer Hour Audit Request. 
  • Updates Concerning Volunteer Hours & Audits
    • The first week of the month is the processing week for hours and audits submitted the previous month. Audits are not processed or reviewed until this time. 
    • Volunteer hours submitted during the processing week will not be reviewed until the following week.
    • Hours must be submitted by the last day of the month to reflect on your transcript the following month. 
    • Any hours submitted after the 1st of the month or any hours approved by the contact person after the 1st of the month will not be reviewed or approved until after the processing week has concluded. 
    • Hours may be processed faster than the timeline given, however, this is the standard time.

FAMULead

FAMULead is a clearinghouse for information about programs, events, organizations, academic courses, and activities involving leadership opportunities for FAMU students.  The purpose of FAMULead is to provide students with opportunities to improve their leadership skills. Leadership is not just being a member of an organization, but obtaining skills necessary to develop successful, productive, and civic-minded individuals. 

Academic Leadership Courses  


Fang Leadership Academy

Fang Leadership Academy provides a dynamic, intensive student leadership training/motivational experience to students. It is an academy designed to foster servant leadership, critical-thinking and motivate FAMU future leaders to action. The academy is a program provided by Leadership & Service Learning under Efferson Student Union 

Who can apply?

Any student who has completed at least 12 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher is eligible to apply.

How do I apply?

Complete the online application, completely and concisely.

Each applicant must also choose one FAMU faculty/staff member and provide their email address in order for them to submit a letter of reference. This letter of reference must also be submitted through iStrike by the faculty member.

Questions on the application process may be addressed to Stephanie Colter, 850-412-7830 or stephanie.colter@famu.edu.

 Approved applicants will be briefly interviewed by two committee members during the week of December 10th.


Leadership & Service Learning

Leadership & Service Learning (LSL) is a unit within Efferson Student Union & Activities. LSL engages students in leadership development and service-learning opportunities that foster transformative learning and social change. LSL provides programs that are open to and designed for all FAMU students, regardless of affiliation, major, identity or status. These programs are opportunities for diverse students and staff to share perspectives, ask critical questions, and meaningfully impact the community. 

What we do for FAMU Students

  • Provide leadership development and training programs designed to cultivate the next generation of FAMU leaders
  • Provide enriching community service and volunteer opportunities and programs
  • Connect students with meaningful service learning and volunteer opportunities in the Tallahassee community.
  • Provide training for being an effective volunteer on FAMU’s campus and in the community
  • Provide a system for documenting community service and volunteer hours on student Rattler Record

What we do for FAMU departments

  • Assist with the recruitment of FAMU student volunteers to participate in university sponsored events and activities by posting on Efferson Student Union & Activities Community Service and Volunteer calendar.

What we do for the community

  • Assist with the recruitment of FAMU student volunteers to participate in approved community agency sponsored events and activities by posting on Efferson Student Union & Activities Community Service and Volunteer calendar.

Service & Volunteer Hours

Florida A&M University students can submit their volunteer/service hours using our new Volunteer & Service Entry form.  To get to the form click on the Leadership & Service Learning Link located on the Efferson Student Union & Activities iStrike Portal