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As Carolina junior Sarah Kocz discussed her day's work with supervisor
Charles Graves of the West End Revitalization Association in Mebane, she
stressed the need for members of the low-income, minority community to group
together and help themselves.
Kocz has volunteered this spring at the nonprofit community development
corporation, developing a survey with the help of the School of Social Work to
gather information about the community's residents. "This neighborhood has
historically been cut off," she said. "I'm here to link this place to the
resources at UNC."
Kocz's work has been part of the APPLES -- Assisting People in Planning
Learning Experiences in Service -- program at Carolina, which helps students
combine classroom learning and real-world service opportunities.
The program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary March 3, was founded by
five University undergraduates and became the nation's first student-run
service organization. In 1991, students voted to fund the program by raising
student fees.
This semester APPLES offers 16 courses that incorporate service-learning
in their curricula. About 320 students volunteer up to five hours a week at
Triangle schools, nonprofit agencies and government offices to explore the
impact of service on the community and in their academic course work.
Mary Morrison, director of APPLES, said the program has grown
substantially since it began in 1990.
"We've tripled the size of the program, and we've added new programs," she
said. "I feel like we have more visibility and credibility on campus."
Programs added
Since its founding, APPLES has added paid internships during the
year and in the summer, as well as the Alternative Spring Break program.
School-year interns receive three hours of credit and a $1,200 stipend, while
summer interns receive three hours of credit and a $2,500 stipend.
In the spring break program, students enroll in a one-hour-credit course
to prepare for intensive community service during the week of their spring
break. This year, besides the regular program, 14 APPLES students will travel
over spring break with Environmental Resources Program staff to Edgecombe
County for community service in that Hurricane Floyd-ravaged area.
APPLES also sponsors the social entrepreneurship program, in which
students work for a full academic year to assess community needs and design
service projects that address those needs. They then submit a proposal for
review by students, faculty and community representatives.
Morrison said the Carolina Center for Public Service, which kicked off in
September, is further strengthening APPLES. The center provides administrative
support and aids in programming for service-learning courses, summer
internships and the Alternative Spring Break program.
"I think it just helps all of us by increasing the visibility of service
on this campus and encouraging people to collaborate with each other," Morrison
said.
Rachel Willis, associate professor of American studies and adjunct
associate professor of economics, has been involved with the APPLES program
since its founders asked her to teach a service-learning course in 1989. She
said APPLES has enhanced both her own teaching and the University community as
a whole.
"APPLES is the very best of University life -- internally and externally,"
Willis said. "It permits students to develop an appreciation for all the
challenges faced by the citizens of North Carolina -- the very same people that
pay for their education."
Willis also said student participants and APPLES leaders are more likely
to get better jobs and be accepted to graduate schools. "I think it motivates a
lot of people to find out what they want to do."
`I have someone'
Kocz said she is excited about working with APPLES and the West End
revitalization program. She said that while tutoring homeless children in
Durham last year, she grew frustrated by society's large-scale problems and
wanted to help.
"I've done tutoring before, but I feel like there will always be college
students to help tutor," she said. "This was something I felt I could really
sink my teeth into."
Kocz volunteers at West End through her culture, gender and participatory
development class, taught by Ann Dunbar, associate professor of African and
Afro-American studies. Dunbar said the class explores how culture and gender
affect social change and that, by working at West End, Kocz has an opportunity
to bring about that change and a "chance to look at a community as a
whole."
Founded in 1994 as a way to improve the economic and social status of the
community's residents, West End Revitalization has since become an advocate in
a variety of areas.
"People were starting to come in for all reasons, so we refer them to
those who can help them do things low-income people often neglect to do for
themselves," Graves said.
The group was at the forefront of a conflict with the N.C. Department of
Transportation last year over a proposed bypass that would have cut through the
middle of the community, Graves said. But after negotiations with the DOT, the
bypass route was moved to the outskirts of West End, saving about 26
houses.
Graves and Kocz said the greatest challenge West End Revitalization faces
is bringing needed money into the community, instead of allowing development to
spring up around the area.
"We don't want to be surrounded like a doughnut," Graves said. "If we
don't do anything, they'll let us become an island of poverty."
He said he is excited about working with APPLES and Carolina, adding that
Kocz has been a welcome addition to his small, overworked staff.
"At least now I can say, `I have someone working on that right
now.'"
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