LEAGUE Michigan

Michigan Nonprofit Association promotes and strengthens a life-long ethic of service and civic engagement through the support of community building initiatives. To support this mission, the Michigan Nonprofit Association has entered into a partnership with the LEAGUE Powered by Learning to Give to develop and implement a state model for the provision of universal access for all Michigan public schools and communities to participate in the LEAGUE model.

The LEAGUE Powered by Learning to Give is just that…a cooperative, international “league” of K-12 schools and community organizations where young people “learn to give.” The LEAGUE plans to increase the quality and quantity of young people’s philanthropy and service contributions, worldwide, through a model that combines calendar-based events, curriculum and ongoing service throughout the school year. The LEAGUE wraps lessons and activities in a sports-style system with points, teacher “Coaches” and student “Captains” while providing quantifiable, newsworthy opportunities to spark local media coverage of youth “doing good”.

Imagine…a city-wide service project, a One Day, that kicks off the school year-and, at year’s end, an Awards Celebration that recognizes each student’s giving and service throughout the year. Now imagine everything in between-fun, service-oriented events tied to a day of Thanks, a Hero’s Day honoring individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., making Valentine’s Day (Art from the Heart) greeting cards for seniors and soldiers and doing Earth Day environmental projects, all supported by lessons about philanthropic concepts that reinforce the schools’ existing curricular objectives. All of this-and more-can earn students and their schools points and recognition while educating the next generation about action for the common good.

In this LEAGUE:

• Each community school is a team and every student is a player. Teams learn about service, philanthropy, character and leadership in the classroom and practice it in the community.
• Measures and reports a "hard currency" value on young people's contributions to society.
• Teaches children the broader concepts of "action for the common good" (philanthropy)

Real-Life Experience & Learning-A Powerful Partnership
The LEAGUE Events provide the active, experiential, “heart” part of volunteering and service, and the Learning to Give lessons teach student the “head” or knowledge piece-why they should be a part of their community, why they should act for the common good, and how participating in their community dovetails with participation in the democratic process. By combining learning and doing as two sound teaching strategies, the LEAGUE brings resources to schools that will make a difference in students’ live.

Learning to Give

The Michigan LEAGUE is powered by Learning to Give. Learning to Give is an innovative educational initiative seeking to maintain and enhance a civil society. Learning to Give:

• EDUCATES youth about philanthropy, the nonprofit and volunteer sector, and the importance of giving their time, talent and treasure for the common good (knowledge),
• DEVELOPS philanthropic behavior and experience (skills), and,
• EMPOWERS youth to take voluntary citizen action for the common good in their classrooms, their lives and their communities (behavior).

Developing Lessons and Materials about Philanthropy
The Council of Michigan Foundations and a Steering Committee of thirteen collaborating leaders in education, volunteerism, and nonprofit leadership have successfully completed a unique effort to write, field test, implement and disseminate high quality K-12 curriculum lessons, units and materials on philanthropy. Nurtured and piloted in Michigan, Learning to Give is proceeding with plans for a national and international infusion of this academic content into the core curriculum of schools.

The long-term goal of the project is to develop and replicate curriculum lessons, units, and materials for perpetuating a civil society through the education of children about the nonprofit or independent sector, and to achieve their commitment to private citizen action for the common good. The lessons, units, and materials that are a part of the curriculum contain both academic content about philanthropy, and skill development activities which involve students in giving and serving their communities.

The basic strategy for the project is a grassroots teacher -led effort to infuse academic content about philanthropy and the service learning process into the curriculum. Classroom teachers in school systems serving a variety of communities are developing lessons, units, and materials, piloting, field-testing, and building authentic evaluation processes. The teachers are in kindergarten through senior high school classrooms, in public and private schools, and in rural, suburban and urban settings.

Their modules and materials are available under "Teachers” and “Resource Room” on the Learning to Give Web site to be shared nationally and internationally without cost. During the process of writing and testing, national and international educators have been linked into the writing through the Internet, presentations at meetings, communications and informal networking.

Begun in 1997, this carefully designed program is poised for a national growth. It has already generated an enthusiastic response from classroom teachers and school administrators.

How The Project Is Being Developed And Implemented
The project is thoughtfully complex, with several strategies in each phase: development, assessment, piloting and field testing, content development, teaching process, evaluation, and dissemination. The major components are:

• A teacher -based and grassroots effort which increases authenticity
• Quality curriculum infused into the core academic content courses
• Teaching both about philanthropy (academic content) and philanthropy (personal commitment)
• Utilization of computer technology for communication on many levels
• Access to all material by all educators without copyright concerns
• Local advisors with ties to state and national networks
• Colleges of education involvement from pre-service teachers to master's degree students
• Multiple dimensions, networks, and strategies for dissemination
• Multiple evaluation strategies and assessment
• Bias toward collaboration.

Learning to Give is successfully launched and is moving rapidly to fulfill its potential in thoughtfully and systematically transmitting the philanthropic tradition to the next generation.

More information about Learning to Give is available at http://www.learningtogive.org/

Coaches: Meet the Press Box
Stay connected with LEAGUE resources by subscribing to the LEAGUE Press Box, a monthly update with scores of resources and opportunities for your students.

February 2011 Press Box
March 2011 Press Box
April 2011 Press Box
May 2011 Press Box 

Templates for service-learning awards!
Teacher Certificate
Student Certificate
Administrator Certificate
Partner Organization Certificate

Subscribe to the Press Box here.

Contact Information

Kari Pardoe
Director, Michigan LEAGUE
Phone: 313.309.1668
kpardoe@mnaonline.org.

Please visit www.leagueworldwide.org