In 1991 PROJECTS was invited to create a service-learning program at Waterville High School in Waterville, Maine. Much like the program at Orono High School, PROJECTS raised money to fund the program. In exchange, Waterville High School created space in the budget for a new community service learning coordinator position.

Working in conjunction with Waterville High School staff, PROJECTS helped Waterville establish the Community Leadership and Student Services (CLASS) program – a student volunteer organization to provide services to community agencies and senior citizens.

“We felt there was a need for our students to participate in community so that they might better feel a sense of belonging,” Waterville Principal Eric Haley said at the time.

Among the many services CLASS students offered were: shopping for the eldery who cannot leave their homes, mowing lawns, helping in nursing homes, reading and writing letters for the disabled, light household chores, assistance in local government agencies and working with young children. The program was such a success that during its first year Waterville was selected for the America’s Future Award by Channel 6 News – a Maine program honoring teens who excel in community service and provide their peers with positive role models.

For more information, visit Waterville High School.

When Orono High School first implemented its service-learning requirement in 1994, all of the school’s ninth grade students signed a petition objecting to the new program. They believed that the initiative, which required all students to undergo a three year service-learning curriculum before they could graduate, amounted to forced volunteerism. They were right, of course, but Orono Principal Tom Perry did not care – he politely collected the petition and tucked it away in his drawer.

Three years later, when the high school was faced with budget restrictions and it looked as if the program could be cut, those same students – who by then were seniors and had fulfilled their service requirement – flooded the school board meeting with one simple message: you cannot get rid of this program.

“The change that took place in that first group of students over those three years is what PROJECTS had predicted would occur when young people find meaning in service” said Perry Gates, President of PROJECTS, Inc.

Orono High School’s service-learning program was created in 1994 after PROJECTS, Inc. raised money to create a premier service-learning program in Maine. Once funding was secured, PROJECTS sent out a request for proposal to educators across the state, and eventually selected Orono High School for the program. PROJECTS provided Orono with a grant of $40,000 over four years, and sent staff to train Orono’s guidance team in service-learning. The idea was to integrate service-learning into the school’s basic education. With consultation from PROJECTS, Orono created a mandatory three year curriculum that all Orono students begin when they enter high school. The program PROJECTS created is the same program running at Orono today.

The curriculum is separated into three stages. During their first year, Orono ninth graders are introduced to the idea of community service through classes and school-led service projects. As tenth graders, they attend seminars to learn about services needed in the community. Students then create their own 30 hour service project to be completed by the end of eleventh grade. The program culminates in a research paper and exhibition where students present their project to a panel of community members and teachers.

“It was tough at first,” admitted Connie Carter, who ran the program from its conception in 1994 until 2002, “but after a while most students agreed that the program actually gave school a purpose.” “I remember a lot of long hours and significant resistance at first,” Gates said.

Orono High School immediately noticed some clear benefits of the program: that it helped meet community needs and inspired in students a sense of civic responsibility. However, the community also found that service-learning helped participants bridge the generation gap. “The program helps students see adults in a different light,” Carter said. She remembers a group of particularly difficult teenage boys whom she paired with a 70 year old mentor. At first the teens’ attendance and commitment to their project was poor, but once they learned that their older mentor showed up each day whether they were there or not, they changed their behavior. “They came away with an enormous amount of respect for that guy,” Carter said. “That’s a connection that never would have been made without this program.”

Since those first years, Orono High School’s service-learning curriculum has evolved into an award-winning program that currently serves 80 to 90 students per year. Orono students have created and participated in a wide variety of service projects – including home maintenance jobs, community construction, recycling programs and even teaching horseback riding to students with disabilities. The program is run by one paid coordinator, and aided by a volunteer core of 50-60 community mentors and parents.

Close to 1,000 students had successfully fulfilled Orono High School’s service-learning requirement by 2008 – and the program is still running today. Now included in the school’s annual budget, and independently run by Orono High School staff and community members, the program never would have gotten off the ground without the initial seed money and training from PROJECTS, Inc. “This program is a perfect example of how PROJECTS operates as a non-profit,” Gates said . “We identify the problem, create a solution strategy and fund a portion of the action plan. Once things are running smoothly, we then turn the initiative over to local leadership, who by then have the tools to sustain it.”

In 1975, PROJECTS, Inc. started a maple sugaring operation geared at supplementing the classroom learning of Camden, Maine high school students. “We sensed that, especially for senior students in their final year of high school, there was a need to balance classroom learning with out of classroom experience,” recalled Perry Gates of PROJECTS.

After first raising money from private contributors, and receiving approval from the local Principal and Superintendent, PROJECTS met with teachers at Camden Rockport High School to discuss how to integrate the academic portion of the program. The teachers decided that the most relevant areas of academic overlap were English and History. In order to satisfy the English component, students were to keep and present a journal of their experience. To satisfy the History component, students were required to study the agriculture and history of maple sugaring.

The first year (1975), approximately ten students (self-selecting, and mostly seniors) joined the spring program. During the second year (1976), students from two private schools – the Putney school in Vermont, and the Pingree School in Massachusetts – spent their spring semesters in Camden studying and harvesting syrup. One student from the Pingree School enjoyed her experience so much that she returned to Camden that summer to supervise the construction of a new sugarhouse for the program.

In 1982, Camden High School’s maple sugaring program was integrated into PROJECTS Community Service Corp. As a reward for 150 hours of volunteer service, Community Service Corp members were allowed to join the maple sugaring operation in the spring. The program lasted up through 1995, when the Community Service Corps became an independent organization, renaming itself “Community Service Projects, Inc.” (what is named “YouthLinks” today).

As the operation grew, students began selling the syrup to the local community – first through deliveries, and then out of the back of pickup trucks next to fish salesmen in Cod Cove, Rockland (records indicate that one year the students even turned a profit: $244.60). Sensing a market for high quality Maine maple syrup, Perry Gates decided to turn the small operation into a much larger for-profit business. Many years later, what began as a small maple sugaring operation for students now lives on as the award-winning maple syrup company Maine Gold.

In 1988, PROJECTS, Inc. helped King Middle School in Portland, Maine establish its “Y.E.S.” program. The program, composed of 20 students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades, provided participants with the opportunity to work together during and after school to solve community problems. During open periods, students met with advisors twice a week in the library to plan community outreach activities and discuss their progress.

Throughout the first year, students participated in a wide range of leadership, community and service activities. From adventure based team building workshops, to volunteering at homeless shelters, nursing homes and as mentors for elementary school students, King Middle School students engaged in a broad range of service related activities. As a result, they were taught a broad definition of service, and what it means to contribute to their community. Like PROJECTS’ other service-learning initiatives, the focus was on demonstrating to students the importance of civic engagement, and how rewarding volunteer service can be.

To this day, King Middle School excels when it comes to student and community engagement. Actively operating a “Community Connection” area of the school, King Middle School students are often out in the community, engaged in community service projects or expedition fieldwork. To learn more, visit the King Middle School website.

In 1994 PROJECTS was invited to create a service-learning program at Belfast Area High School in Belfast, Maine. Similar to the programs at Orono and Waterville high schools, PROJECTS raised private money to fund the creation of a service-learning coordinator position at Belfast. In exchange, Belfast Area High School allocated office space and administrative support for the new position. Belfast also appointed a team of staff that acted as a liaison between PROJECTS and the high school.

The goal of Belfast’s new service learning program was to implement a Peer Leadership volunteer initiative that placed student volunteers at for-profit and non-profit businesses and organizations in the M.S.A.D. #34 communities. During the first year, 15 students signed up for the program. Over lunch breaks, student volunteers were trained in a wide range of skills from team building, communication, decision-making and leadership. The students also attended a weekend retreat with the Northeast Center Training Session at Camp Kieve, and a two day long workshop on harassment with a member of Brown University’s Desegregation Center.

Throughout the year, the peer leaders kept a journal, served as tutors and mentors for K-8 students, and volunteered at local organizations within their community. They also promoted awareness around issues involving harassment and the dangers of drug use.

The program proved to be incredibly popular among students, and in the second year participation increased from 15 to 25 students. The program’s reputation for providing quality tutoring and mentoring services to students was highly respected – during the second year there were twice as many requests for mentors as there were available students.

Over the years, Belfast High School’s Peer Leadership group has been quite successful. Now operating under the name of the “Peer Leadership Aspirations Group,” student participants each year participate in training sessions and volunteer work that encourages youth civic engagement. For more information, visit the Belfast Area High School website: http://www.sad34.net/bahs/

From 1992 – 1995, PROJECTS Inc. helped create a service learning program at Brunswick High School in Maine. Much like PROJECTS flagship service learning program at Orono High School, the initiative combined a core service curriculum with service projects in the Brunswick community. The goal of the program was to involve students in organized community service that addressed local needs and engaged students in the educational process.

Since PROJECTS departure in 1995, the program has grown substantially and is still active today. To learn more, visit the Brunswick Service Learning website.