Project Title:
Soup Bowls for Hunger: Collaborative Learning for Civic Responsibility
Project Director and Other Associated Faculty and Staff:
Sue Olson, Marketing Instructor, Rainy River Community College, Contact: solson@rrcc.mnscu.edu, Tel.: (218) 285-2279
Jean Evens, Sociology Faculty, Rainy River Community College, Contact: jevens@rrcc.mnscu.edu, Tel.: (218)285-2254
Project Design:
In order to develop an awareness of civic responsibility, the project director developed an interdisciplinary, collaborative process among RRCC students in 3 courses: Principles of Marketing, Sociocultural Diversity, and Ceramics and Sculpture. Through collaboration with community partners, the students helped organize the “Soup Fest” event to raise money to feed the poor.
Project Evaluation and Outcomes:
On November 18, 2004, the “Soup Fest” event took place to support the Falls Hunger Coalition. The 3 courses contributed to the success of the event in different ways: the Marketing students brainstormed ideas to promote the event and developed a marketing plan and created posters (using Publisher software), flyers, tickets, etc.; the Sociocultural Diversity students worked on the mechanics of the festival including layout of serving area, organizing a silent auction, sold tickets, served soup at the event and cleaned up after the event; the Ceramics students created soup bowls to sell at the event. The outcome was that over 250 community residents attended the Soup Fest event and it raised $2,858 for the Falls Hunger Coalition. Evaluation consisted of a pre- and post-project survey of participating students and reflective essays. Data from this evaluation revealed the virtually all (90%+) of the students agreed that they have a responsibility to serve their community and that combining coursework and community service should be practiced more and there was an increase (approximately 20%) in these responses comparing pre- and post-project responses. 80%+ of respondents to post-project survey said that project helped them to better understand course material and that they were now more likely to participate in service to their community.
Lessons Learned, Dissemination and Sustainability
The project director believes that through participation in this project, the students developed an awareness of social and class diversity and how individuals can take social action to benefit the common good. The surveys of students showed a growth in awareness of civic engagement and reflective essays clearly demonstrated a synthesis of service and course content. One element of the project that did not work as well as expected was the involvement of Ceramics students. This project was optional for the students so few participated and there were limited number of soup bowls sold at the event. After the event, the students have formed a partnership with Falls Hunger Coalition and students have continued to serve as volunteers after the project. To sustain the event, some of the participating students made a PowerPoint presentation to the local Rotary to raise money. Both the Marketing and the Sociology instructors are interested in continuing to work on the project as a service learning requirement in future courses. Dissemination of findings has occurred through articles in local newspapers.
