Summer grant opportunities top 100k
Teddy White
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: News
The Community Service Office is offering Washington University students as much as $100,000 for summer projects geared toward social change.
Although the Community Service Office (CSO) has always offered money for summer work, this sum of funding is larger than that available in previous years.
The CSO has teamed up with The Career Center and The Gephardt Institute for Public Service to offer this money through 49 different grant and stipend programs for students who wish to volunteer this summer helping in communities here in St. Louis, or anywhere in the world.
The grants come in denominations from $3,000 to $10,000 for undergraduate students who want to innovate or pursue social change projects of their own.
In the past, junior Kelly Greenman received a $3,000 grant through the program, "Village India" to teach English to children in India.
"This was an incredible opportunity to branch out of my comfort zone and have an amazing and unique experience while performing community service," said Greenman.
According to Greenman, she was able to teach the Indian students about English creative writing, as well serve as an instrument through which the kids could learn about American culture.
Greenman was also able to grow and learn herself through the cultural immersion process while she was living in India.
In 2001, University student Jay Swaboda used the Stern Social Change grant to create a free magazine titled What's Up for the homeless and poor.
The magazine strives to educate, organize and motivate the community to fight urban poverty.
Furthermore, the magazine is a social enterprise that provides work and income for many of the unemployed individuals in the city of St. Louis.
What's Up Magazine is still in publication and Swaboda runs the magazine today as his primary occupation.
"[The grants] are an opportunity to dream big and produce real outcomes for the community," said Swaboda on the University community service Web site. "I wouldn't be doing anything that I currently am had I not had the opportunity to be exposed to this environment through the Stern Scholarship. I am still busy publishing and organizing What's Up Magazine and currently employ a working staff of 30 homeless individuals."
The Career Center is offering 36 stipend programs of up to $3,000 for unpaid summer internships.
The Gephardt Institute for Public Service is offering 10 stipends of $2,000 for both undergraduate and graduate students who wish to pursue any unpaid community service, political action or social justice internships this summer.
In an attempt to highlight grant opportunities and to help students understand how to write proposals for funding, there will be a session on November 8 at 4 p.m. entitled "Got Enough Money?"
"The Proposal Writing workshop is even broader than just learning how to write stipends and grants," said Stephanie Kurtzman, the director of the CSO.
Kurtzman added that the presentation will provide beneficial guidance for writing any research funding request, graduate school application, post-graduate scholarship application or post-graduate fellowship application
For more information about funding opportunities, visit the CSO Web site at http://communityservice.wustl.edu.
Although the Community Service Office (CSO) has always offered money for summer work, this sum of funding is larger than that available in previous years.
The CSO has teamed up with The Career Center and The Gephardt Institute for Public Service to offer this money through 49 different grant and stipend programs for students who wish to volunteer this summer helping in communities here in St. Louis, or anywhere in the world.
The grants come in denominations from $3,000 to $10,000 for undergraduate students who want to innovate or pursue social change projects of their own.
In the past, junior Kelly Greenman received a $3,000 grant through the program, "Village India" to teach English to children in India.
"This was an incredible opportunity to branch out of my comfort zone and have an amazing and unique experience while performing community service," said Greenman.
According to Greenman, she was able to teach the Indian students about English creative writing, as well serve as an instrument through which the kids could learn about American culture.
Greenman was also able to grow and learn herself through the cultural immersion process while she was living in India.
In 2001, University student Jay Swaboda used the Stern Social Change grant to create a free magazine titled What's Up for the homeless and poor.
The magazine strives to educate, organize and motivate the community to fight urban poverty.
Furthermore, the magazine is a social enterprise that provides work and income for many of the unemployed individuals in the city of St. Louis.
What's Up Magazine is still in publication and Swaboda runs the magazine today as his primary occupation.
"[The grants] are an opportunity to dream big and produce real outcomes for the community," said Swaboda on the University community service Web site. "I wouldn't be doing anything that I currently am had I not had the opportunity to be exposed to this environment through the Stern Scholarship. I am still busy publishing and organizing What's Up Magazine and currently employ a working staff of 30 homeless individuals."
The Career Center is offering 36 stipend programs of up to $3,000 for unpaid summer internships.
The Gephardt Institute for Public Service is offering 10 stipends of $2,000 for both undergraduate and graduate students who wish to pursue any unpaid community service, political action or social justice internships this summer.
In an attempt to highlight grant opportunities and to help students understand how to write proposals for funding, there will be a session on November 8 at 4 p.m. entitled "Got Enough Money?"
"The Proposal Writing workshop is even broader than just learning how to write stipends and grants," said Stephanie Kurtzman, the director of the CSO.
Kurtzman added that the presentation will provide beneficial guidance for writing any research funding request, graduate school application, post-graduate scholarship application or post-graduate fellowship application
For more information about funding opportunities, visit the CSO Web site at http://communityservice.wustl.edu.
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