A culture of service

Warner Pacific’s urban mission, “In the City, For the City,” represents the culture of service on campus. Service is defined as “work done to benefit  those who are within personal proximity and/or experiencing poverty in some way, with a priority for individuals meeting both conditions.” A culture of service keeps students engaged. At Warner Pacific, students are in the habit of participating in service.

Orientation
Freshmen at Warner Pacific attend a volunteer training during orientation week before classes begin. The training session teaches students how to be a volunteer and covers topics such as: the expected commitment, punctuality, responsibility, and the expectations of community partners.

Required Volunteer Hours
All students are required to do 10 hours of volunteer work per semester, but many students go above and beyond this through engagement in service-learning courses or alternative break trips.

Common Day of Service
One Wednesday in September the campus joins together to engage in a local service project, called the Common Day of Service. Students and faculty often participate in other school-sponsored service activities such as the Hot Chocolate Ministry.

Compatible Local Connections
Service projects and service-learning internships take place in the local community. Before students serve with community partners, they must determine if the community partner is compatible with Warner Pacific’s service-learning mission and values. The Service-Learning Office uses a compatibility checklist to determine if the fit is right.

resources

• Service-Learning Faculty page on Warner Pacific's website.
• Eli Ritchie, Service Learning Coordinator at Warner Pacific, helps students learn how to be a volunteer. Here’s his presentation, with notes, from orientation week.