The Community Service-Learning (CSL) Program allows students to get a small taste of volunteering and civic engagement by matching them with short-term projects proposed by local organizations. Students must complete a reflection assignment as part of the learning process. Projects are usually 10 to 20 hours per-student in length.

CSL project examples: Event support, organic garden harvesting, preparing and serving community meals, tree-planting, food drive, animal care, literacy support, radio programming, and library support

The CSL Program is designed to:

• Assist community organizations with services that otherwise might not be completed.
• Provide students with experience in their fields of study and enhance future employment prospects.
• Increase co-operation and partnership between Trent University and the broader communities it serves.

Community Service-Learning projects are undertaken as assignments within courses. Program staff will work with instructors, students and community host organizations to clarify project details and TCCBE/U-Links registration. Community Service-Learning projects are only available to students within participating courses. Students may be subject to further prerequisites by individual departments and instructors and community host organizations may screen students for relevant skills and knowledge.

Community hosts are encouraged to contact TCCBE staff with their project ideas.

Similarly, faculty members are encouraged to contact TCCBE staff if they want to integrate CSL projects into their course curriculum.

See our list of current CSL projects to get a sense of what a CSL project looks like.

If you are interested in a student project longer than 10-20 hours per person, please see our Community-Based Education Program. If you have a multi-year project idea that might potentially involve faculty, please see our Strategic Research Initiative.

Roles and Resources:

The Community Service-Learning program fulfills a community-defined need for a common point of contact with the University and provides an extensive community development network for students and faculty wanting to work with local organizations. Host organizations involved in the program provide supervision, facilities, services and materials. Participating instructors provide academic supervision, grade students’ work and support students in a manner consistent with other university courses. Students receive innovative leadership and career-building experience while applying theory to practice in local community settings. TCCBE and U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research (our sister organization in Haliburton County) develop new projects and support those underway, provide resources and contacts, and facilitate communication among all participants.

TCCBE and U-Links each maintain resource libraries that include reference materials about local community groups and initiatives, past projects, community-based research, and community service-learning.