Family Service Learning As A Tool To Strengthen Communities and Families

FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING AS A TOOL TO
STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES AND

FAMILIES
Ann Anaebere-Aneke, RN, PhD
Family service learning can be a helpful tool to strengthen WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF SERVICE LEARNINGS?
both communities and families. Much research has sought to According to Learning to Give (n.d.), service learning activities
identify the educational, political, socioeconomic, and even can be direct, indirect, involve advocacy and research. Some
health factors that are adversely impacting communities and examples are:
families (Adarlo, 2020; Sabo, et al., 2015). However, there are Direct: Involves person-to-person service, where the
a number of accessible tools that can be immediately applied project benefits an individual directly.
that can support and even strengthen both communities and i.e.: reading to kids, tutoring, providing health or
families. One of those tools is family service learning. Family legal education to juveniles or foster youth or
service can unite families and encourage them to come providing health screenings to seniors.
together to contribute to a larger goal. This can help Indirect: Involves projects that benefit the community.
strengthen familial dynamics, while enhancing personal i.e.: home construction with habitat for humanity,
bonds to the community. The accessibility of family service community restoration (tree planting, neighborhood
learning is also an added benefit. There is no entry level beautification), food drives, raising money for a charity
criteria to engage in family service or to start a family service or nonprofit organization or web design.
group. Any person in any community can participate and offer Advocacy: Includes educating individuals about diverse
their time, resources or whatever they can afford to financially topics to bring awareness and support action on issues
contribute to support service projects in their community. In that impact the community.
addition to meeting a community need, family service can i.e.: Students write, speak, lobby or act to create
also have the added benefit of offering career exposure awareness about various issues in their community
(Mitchell & Rost-Banik, 2019), education (Eppler, et al., 2011) through government or grassroots action. Individuals
and supporting mental health (Wilczenski & Cook, 2009). may seek to impact laws or inform politicians and the
These supports can no doubt lead to the development of community about important issues.
long-term infrastructure by way of sustainable activities in Research: Involves identifying new information that leads
both the nonprofit and private sector. In this summary, there or guides action.
will be a discussion of our application of the National Center i.e.: being involved in data collection to address a
for Families Learning (NCFL) six step model for family service community issue or that can lead to social change.
learning, to the development of our own family service group,
Omenala Service Learning Collaborative. In this summary we HOW CAN SERVICE LEARNING BE APPLIED TO FAMILIES?
detail how we were able to apply the six-step process to our Cramer & Toso (2015) published the six step model to guide
family service activities. family service activities as implemented through the National
Center for Families Learning (NCFL) Toyota Family Learning
WHAT IS SERVICE LEARNING? Program. Highlighted below are the details of how we were
As described by the National Youth Leadership Council (n.d.), able to apply the NCFL six step process for carrying out our
service learning is an instructional strategy that has linked family service activities.
community service with academic study to enrich learning, NCFL Family Service Learning: Six-Step Process
teach civic responsibility and strength communities. It is a tool INVESTIGATION: Parents and children investigate
to encourage students to participate in community service, community problems that they might potentially address.
while at the same time making sure that academic learning is Investigation involves research and a community
a part of service. Service learning also has mutual benefits for mapping activity.
both the student and community.
FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY

1
Our Application: Investigation of activities for REFLECTION: Parents and children debrief and reflect on
involvement were supported through a review of the service-learning experience. Activities include thinking
issues addressed in our local media, local schools and, about the project implementation, the meaning and
church. Also, with younger children (i.e.: infants and/or connection between parents’ work and the community,
toddlers), it is helpful to pursue service activities that and what children have learned in school.
are indirect in nature until children become older. For Our Application: To reflect on each service learning
example, involvement in a local drives (i.e.: back to experience we often asked ourselves how a service
school drives, food drives or clothing drives), learning experience impacted us directly as
community redesign (i.e.: tree planting, beach clean- individuals. We also reflected on how each service
ups and neighborhood beautification), card and joy experience impacted those we served and the
campaigns for those with chronic illnesses, etc. were community around us.
a good way to involve younger children or even much
older family members in family service activities. DEMONSTRATION OF RESULTS AND CELEBRATION:
Families, program staff, community participants, and
PLANNING AND PREPARATION: Parents, children, others publicly share what they have achieved and
community members, and teachers learn about and plan learned.
the service activities. This step includes acquiring content Our Application: This step can aid family members
knowledge and addressing the administrative issues with their individual and familial assessment of
needed for a successful project. lessons learned and how they have been able to
Our Application: The leader of the family service impact an organization and their community as a
activity did general research on organizations where whole. Although this is optional, during this step it
the family or selected family members (if not every may be helpful for the family service club members to
family member is able to participate) can engage in share their service experiences through photos and
the service project. This was done through a general short reflections on a family generated website, blog,
online or organizational search. The leader of a given Facebook page or other forms of social media. This
family service project would need to discuss the can help the family document and share (amongst
needs of the organization, how the family can support themselves and others) how their service activities
the organizational activities through their service time, have provided both community, familial and personal
duration of their service activity and what the family enrichment. This can also be a great way for families
hopes to learn about the community served (through to look back and bond over their shared family service
the service activity) before the service project begins. experiences and reflect on how much they and their
We also created a family service calendar and community has grown (and learned) through their
decided on the types and how many service activities service roles. Sharing experiences online may also
our family would like to engage in for the year. inspire other families to service together.
ACTION: Involves the implementation of the service SUSTAINABILITY: Parents and program staff plan how to
activity. Parents, children, community members, and make their project or family service learning an ongoing
teachers carry out and complete the family service endeavor. This may include strengthening or cementing
learning project. partnerships, generating and leveraging resources, and
Our Application: Based on what was agreed upon identifying and securing funding sources that are
between the organization and family, the service available over time.
activity would be implemented. Again, it was Our Application: There may be some service
important that the details of the activity were clearly programs that families continue to participate in on a
agreed upon between the organization and family, so long-term basis or they may assist in devising
that the needs of the organization and important strategies that can support the service activity’s
learning lessons for the family are achieved.

2
sustainability for years to come. Families can offer great, Wilczenski, F., & Cook, A. (2009). How service learning
realistic feedback to organizations on how to support or draw addresses the mental health needs of students in urban
in other individuals to serve and meet a program need. They schools. Journal of School Counseling, 7, 1–20.
can also provide long-term infrastructure support for
important initiatives that can make communities stronger
overtime. Indeed the support of families in service can be
invaluable and discussing efforts to support sustainability of
the service activity important.
CONCLUSION
As we continue with our family service activities, we see how
service learning can be a practical tool that families can use
to forge a sense of human connectedness. Indeed service
learning is a wonderful activity that can support personal and
community development in every season of life.
REFERENCES
Adarlo, G. (2020). Service-learning as global citizenship
education: Acting locally on global challenges and concerns.
IAFOR Journal of Education, 8(3), 7-23.
https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.8.3.01
Cramer, J., & Toso, B. (2015). Family Service Learning brief.

National Center for Families Learning and the Goodling
Institute for Research in Family Literacy. Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593411.pdf
Eppler, M., Ironsmith, M., Dingle, S., & Errickson, M. (2011).

Benefits of servicelearning for freshman college students and
elementary school children. Journal of Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning, 11(4), 102-115.
Learning to Give. (n.d.). Four Types of Service Learning.

Retrieved December 9, 2022, from
https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/four-types-service-
action
Mitchell, T., & Rost-Banik, C. (2019). How Sustained Service-

Learning Experiences Inform Career Pathways. Michigan
Journal of Community Service Learning, 25(1), 18-29.
National Youth Leadership Council. (n.d.). What is Service-

Learning? Retrieved December 7, 2022 from
https://www.nylc.org/page/WhatisService-Learning
Sabo, S., de Zapien, J., Teufel-Shone, N., Rosales, C., Bergsma,

L., & Taren, D. (2015). Service learning: A vehicle for building
health equity and eliminating health disparities. American
Journal of Public Health, 105, S38-S43.

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Family Service Learning As A Tool To Strengthen Communities and Families

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FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING AS A TOOL TO

STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES AND

FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY

FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY

Cramer, J., & Toso, B. (2015). Family Service Learning brief.

Eppler, M., Ironsmith, M., Dingle, S., & Errickson, M. (2011).

Learning to Give. (n.d.). Four Types of Service Learning.

Mitchell, T., & Rost-Banik, C. (2019). How Sustained Service-

National Youth Leadership Council. (n.d.). What is Service-

Sabo, S., de Zapien, J., Teufel-Shone, N., Rosales, C., Bergsma,

FAMILY SERVICE LEARNING SUMMARY

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