Wellesley Community Engagement Support for Service Organizations

So I assume that there is no public transportation (T) from Boston to Wellesley College ?

This is unacceptable!

Elizabeth

I am precisely one of those students this lack of support would affect. Had it not been for travel reimbursements, I would not have been able to travel all the way to Dorchester, Boston and serve our youth. Had I not been able to use my volunteer position as my Federal Work Study job, I would not have been able to take care of my financial needs nor explore the possibility of pursuing a career of service. My service with the BRYE (Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment) Teen program was only possible with Wellesley's support, especially on the financial end. Also, I should note that, for the past two years, the BRYE Teen program has been composed mainly of Wellesley volunteers, so support from Wellesley has been incredibly important in keeping the program running. Please consider making our service organizations and our needs a priority. I cannot emphasize how much I would like to come back for my last semester and see that all our service orgs are being properly attended to, as they have been.

We need resources if we are to serve the community!

This needs to change ASAP

Wellesley claims service to be a core tenet of its mission and values; it only makes sense for the College to provide the means and support for its students to truly be able to serve!

I was part of Chinatown Afterschool Program last semester, and was very thankful to the student drivers. However, if volunteers have to pay for tolls and gas, and even car rentals, this could potentially prevent students from being able to volunteer. Administration should do its best to give all students (regardless of financial situation) opportunity to volunteer-- primarily through providing support for transportation.

C'mon Wellesley! Community service rocks

The Wellesley counselors are doing great work. They need to receive support to do this meaningful work.

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Service was one of the most important and meaningful experiences I've had at Wellesley, and I seriously hope that the CWS chooses to offer adequate support to ensure that future students have the chance to engage in similar experiences during their time at Wellesley. Please make this a priority, as it concerns a large portion of the student population as well as the communities which benefit and participate in these service programs!

Career education does not and should not always equate to helping people find jobs and internships. The opportunity to be involved in community engagement during Wellesley is an equally transformative experience that serve as the foundation for many of our passions and professional interests.

Wellesley prides itself on nurturing students "who will" - including those who become community organizers and advocates. It's unfortunate, then, that the overhaul of the CWS has allowed those opportunities that once previously allow students to make a difference in their communities to fall through the cracks.

Service should not be contingent on financial means. We love and are very grateful to the CWS - let's work together to get this resolved quickly and efficiently.

IF CAREER EDUCATION WANTS TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION THEY SHOULD GET ON THIS.

It is an obvious equity issue to not financially support counselors through the Federal Work Study program and transportation.

Last spring before the changes were implemented there was a meeting with all the service organizations to come together to talk about how they are doing and how they have used CWS as a resource. All of us expressed gratitude towards CWS and particularly identified vans / transportation as one of the key factors that has allowed their organization to function. As others have re-iterated here in the comments, the support from the CWS has vanished, which had made programming extremely difficult for our organizations. As the president of the Wellesley chapter of Habitat for Humanity, I am letting down my eboard, the volunteers from the Wellesley community, and most importantly the families at the build sites we partner with.

Speaking for myself and for others who are leaders of service groups - our year started with the first of a series of "monthly meetings" that we were notified about at the start of the school year. Students showed up, but no staff came to speak to us. When someone finally came after we called the office multiple times, she answered questions, and told us to email about others. I emailed, and didn't hear back for about 2 weeks - this is at a crucial starting period for our group. Furthermore, the staff member who had handled all of the service groups last year ('15-'16) was on a one year fellowship - Wellesley CWS/CE knew she would be leaving the position when she entered it. They didn't plan to replace her, and the last I heard, new staff to take up service group duties will come in "october", and I haven't heard anything yet -- this is halfway through many programs' semesters. Please, it takes one meeting with student leaders to figure out what all is needed, and if you hadn't planned to sustain a staff member's responsibilities beyond their presence, there should be a plan to distribute them among all the new staff that have arrived. Wellesley students are traveling hours to work with communities all around Boston, and need financial/logistical support.

The wellesley students at the very least deserve a ride to program!!!