Leaders Gather in Detroit for The Fourth Annual Urban Service-Learning Institute

On August 2-3, 2007, more than 100 community leaders, educators, and service-learning practitioners gathered in Detroit for The Fourth Annual Urban Service-Learning Institute. Over the course of the inspiring two-day event, they addressed some of the key challenges facing youths in urban settings, including poverty, lack of health care, and inadequate educational opportunities.

Attendees were welcomed to the venue, Wayne State University, by Dr. Elizabeth Barton, Coordinator of the new Wayne State Center for Community-Based Education, and greeted by NYLC Vice President Wokie Weah (pictured) and representatives from the co-hosts,  Michigan Campus Compact and the Michigan Community Service Commission. In his opening address, Dr. Jerry Herron, Director of the Wayne State Honors Program, acknowledged the challenges faced by urban youths and those working with them. He encouraged attendees to play a part in what he called the "ecology of hope," noting that individual contributions through service provide the energy to overcome adversity and revitalize communities. He cited the rebuilding of Detroit after a citywide fire in 1805 as a vivid example and shared with attendees the motto that stemmed from the tragedy: "We hope for better things. It will rise from the ashes."

Over the course of the event, presenters and participants explored how service-learning can best utilize the opportunities and overcome the challenges present in urban environments. Workshops focused on understanding the power of racism, developing service-learning leadership, preventing HIV/AIDS, enhancing community-based learning, creating meaningful service-learning opportunities for African-American and Latino youths, and improving professional development for service-learning practitioners. Attendees also provided feedback on a draft of national service-learning practice standards.

The event also featured keynote addresses by Dr. Elysa E. Toler Robinson and Dr. Tony Byers. Robinson, the Director of Operations for the Good School Resource Center at Maygrove College, spoke about her organization's efforts to identify good schools in Detroit. In his address, Byers, the Diversity Learning and Development Specialist at Cargill Inc., asserted that service-learning should be done with urban youths not to them. "Sometimes providers of service benefit more from the experience than recipients do," he said. "Service-learning should be about helping people decide how they want to change their own lives and not about someone coming in from outside to make changes for them."