Green Mountain College
EN-12: Community Service

Faculty are provided course releases and other benefits for engaging in community service initiatives as part of their academic programs. Staff are often granted time off from work to participate in the annual Thanks and Giving and Green Up days. Employees receive positive recognition through the GMC Journal newsletter. The sustainable community development outreach coordinator in GMC's Sustainability Office coordinates ongoing community service activities to support local area organizations and build a sense of community. Recurring activities that include significant volunteer service from employees include the following: Maple Fest—a day each spring that celebrates Vermont’s maple industry, including activities for children, tours for adults, free food, and support for local businesses. Chili Cook Off—a day each fall that celebrates the Town and local businesses. Poultney Earth Fair—a day each year during earth week that promotes community building and environmental education through a plethora of events, activities, and booths presented in a festival format at the local high school. Green Up Day—a day each year during earth week where employees and students help to clean up the campus. Activities with local schools—throughout the year, employees and students engage in numerous activities of service with the high school, such as teaching sessions on special topics, or collaborating on art projects. Poultney Thanks and Giving-- this town-wide community service event attracts employee and student volunteers who provided over 800 hours of service at 24 different locations across Town. The day includes three free meals to all who participate.

The performance year for this credit is FY 2014. This year was chosen because the data came from a survey sent to the faculty that year. The Sustainability Office reasoned that it would be easier for faculty to remember the amount of service performed in each of their classes for the current year as opposed to the previous year. The total numbers of students engaged and the total headcount were from fall 2013. The estimated number of hours of service were derived from inventorying service from the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters on a per class basis as reported by faculty who responded to the survey. Faculty were asked to report number of students in their classes and number of service hours performed in each class. This was used to calculate mean hours per student per class. The mean hours were then multiplied by the mean course load per student to get a total hours estimate per semester. The semesters were then added together to get an estimate for the year. This same methodology was carried out separately for undergraduates and graduates. Both cohorts were added together for the final number.