“Be the change you want to see in the world” Ghandi

Community service and learning has benefits for both kids and the community. For children, these include personal, social, emotional, career and academic learning benefits. Identifying an issue that needs to be addressed by the kids is the first important step. Examples of different service learning ideas include: community development/beautification, environmental sustainability, anti-bullying, promoting health, helping people, improving transportation, promoting safety, etc.

Children and youth have been making a difference in their communities–in little and big ways. There are three key components to community service learning: 1) Service (where kids are engaged in an activity that supports the common good or real-life needs); 2) Learning (where kids have hands-on experiences and link these to larger issues); and 3) Reflection (using critical thinking skills to explore meaning and knowledge from the experience). Apriori Research works with children from conceptualizing to implementation to reflection on projects that make a difference for others and themselves.