CSci 107 Term Project: Service Learning Project

Service learning at Bowdoin

If you choose to do service learning as your final project you will design a website for a community non-profit organization. Below you will find a list of local agencies that need a website and a short description of their mission. The goals of this project are:

You may choose to work in teams of up to 4 people. You should expect to visit the community agency about twice during the course of the project. The agencies are all local so transport should not be a problem (we will talk about logistics later). At the end of the semester you will do a presentation of the agency and of the website that you created.

Check out the websites created by the students in the previous semesters:

There will be workshops to help you with DreamWeaver and Photoshop:

  1. TBD
  2. TBD
All tutorials will be in Coles 2 West Multimedia lab. Directions: Enter the dorm side of Coles, go up the stairs in the back left of the lobby. At top of stairs, go through door, turn left and go to end of hall way. Go through another door and lab is on left.

During each session, Nancy Grant will teach you how to use DreamWeaver to create web pages, how to edit and optimize images with Photoshop, and how to upload finished files to the academic3 webserver. Here is a page that summarizes what you will learn: Web site construction

Attendance to at least one of these sessions is required. You will hopefully be able to attend both of them. Nancy will also offer help on [TBD]. This would be another chance (right before the project 1st draft is due) for you to work on your sites and know that someone is there to help you if you need it; this is NOT the same as the workshops the previous week, it is just a work time with help as needed.

You need to have all of the content ready to plug into DreamWeaver when you get to the session.

The first draft of the project is due on April 27th.



Brunswick-Trinidad Sister City Association Brunswick, ME and Trinidad, Cuba

The vision of Brunswick-Trinidad Sister City Association is to foster a spirit of friendship and cooperation with citizens of Trinidad, Cuba and the Brunswick area, person to person and community to community. Through promotion of creative and constructive non-political interactions with the people of Brunswick and Trinidad. Through experiencing their culture and sharing Brunswick culture with them. Through recognizing and appreciating both the differences and the similarities in the two cultures.

Overlooking the Caribbean on the sout coast of Cuba, the town of Trinidad is the best restored site on the island, and considered by many to be the jewel of Cuba. Trinidad is the 4th oldest town in Cuba, founded in 1514 by Diego de Velasquez.

During the 19th century Maine ships carried lumber, ice and potatoes to Trinidad. On the return trip Maine ships carried sugar, salt and rum.

Today Trinidad is rich in cultural attractions. Music, art and tourism are integral to its life.

Contact:

Peter McGuire, pmcguire1@suscom.net 729-3509
Louisa Edgerton, louisaoats@suscom-maine.net


MidCoast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP)

MCHPP is a not-for-profit United Way agency committed to reducing hunger by offering food assistance to households that are at risk for hunger due to inadequate financial resources. MCHPP serves the residents of Brunswick, Topsham, Harpswell, Bowdoinham, Bowdoin, Durham, Lisbon and Lisbon Falls.

Since 1983 MCHPP has served the nutritional needs of households living in poverty in the Greater Brunswick area. In 2001, 2,500 individuals, including 650 senior citizens and 450 children received help. The program provides over 150,000 meals a year to people who would otherwise go to bed hungry. By providing a Food Pantry, Soup Kitchen and programming on Life Skills and Wellness, MCHPP not only provides food for today , but hope for tomorrow.

Contact:

Terry Howell mchpp@suscom-maine.net


Maine Civil Liberties Union

Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) was founded in 1968 with the purpose to advance and preserve civil liberties of Maine people through litigation, advocacy, public education and lobbying. The MCLU follows these basic principles: the right of free expression; the right to dissent; the right to religious freedom; the right to equal treatment for all people; the right to fair play in encounters with government; and the right to be let alone, to be secure from interference in private matters. Read more about MCLU here.

Last semester MCLU worked with Prof. Jen Scanlon's Feminist Theory class to develop oral histories of same-sex couples in Maine. The finished project is called Our Neighbors, Our Selves and are installments that include each couples photographs and their personal stories. MCLU believes that putting a face and story behind GLBT rights issues is a very powerful way to educate people about the discrimination these people face in our society.

The MCLU wants to continue to use these photographs and stories in our public education and advocacy efforts. One way we thought of doing this is to create a webpage with the pictures, the stories, sound-bites, other GLBT rights information, etc.

Contact:

Cara Bilodeau cbilodeau@mclu.org


Moving Spirit

Moving Spirit is dedicated to creating and performing dance in sacred spaces, and sharing the joy and exaltation of dancing in spiritual community with others. Over the past year, the company has developed a repertory of dances of praise, meditation and celebration.

The group is currently in residence at the Eleven Pleasat Street Center for the Arts in Brunswick.

Moving Spirit's multi-generational company includes five dancers from rich and varried backgrounds in ballet, modern dance, theatre, physical education and improvisation.

The artistic director, Peggy Brightman, had a 30-years dance career in Boston. Peg has her EdD from Columbia University in Arts and Education.

Moving Spirit is dedicated to sharing with others a love of dance that celebrates and springs from a broad diversity of spiritual traditions and experiences.

Contact:

Peg Brightman  pbri@aol.com


Pejepscot Terrace

Pejepscot Terrace, owned and operated by the non-profit corporations United Pejepscot Housing, Inc. and Pejepscot Housing Inc. was formed for the sole purpose of providing affordable, quality housing for elderly households.

Located off Jordan Avenue, less than one mile from Brunswick, each of the 114 condominiums was designed with the elderly household in mind. Most units are on the ground floor with their own separate outside entrance.

The rental amount includes utilities and is calculated to be 30% of your monthly-adjusted income, when rental insurance is available. 102 out of the 114 units have rental assistance.

Eligibility: annual income limits: one person $33,500, two people $37,000.

Contact:

Joe Murphy  joemur@suscom-maine.net
Kim Bernat, bernat@suscom-maine.net, 729-8006