On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, a 90-mile trip was the culmination of months of planning and effort, collaboration between several partners, and $13,222 worth of donations. The result: 1,205 books donated to the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Stuff the Library Book Drive:
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration 2022
On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, a 90-mile trip was the culmination of months of planning and effort, collaboration between several partners, and $13,222 worth of donations. The result: 1,205 books donated to the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
This was the second annual Stuff the Library Book Drive as a part of MSU's Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The goal of the event is to fill libraries in local schools with books on topics of social justice and with characters representing diverse backgrounds.
The 2022 donation drive far surpassed the initial goal of $7,500 and more than tripled the 2021 donation total of $4,331. TIAA provided a generous donation of $5,000.
The Stuff the Library Book Drive was a campus-wide collaboration including the MSU Alumni Office, MSU Center for Community Engaged Learning, MSU Libraries, WKAR, and MSU WorkLife Office. Books were purchased from Socialight Society in Lansing, owned and operated by Nyshell Lawrence.
Fill the Bus 2021
The MSU Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and the MSU Alumni Office invited participants to make donations to our 13th Annual “Fill the Bus” event. We strive to give local students and families a great start to the new school year!
Fill the Bus 2021:
Spartans Helping the Spartan Community
The MSU Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and the MSU Alumni Office invited participants to make donations to our 13th Annual “Fill the Bus” event. We strive to give local students and families a great start to the new school year!
The goal for “Fill the Bus” 2021 was to raise $5,000. We were able to raise almost $7,000 in donations! Kimberly Steed-Page, Director, Student Parent Resource Center, and one of the recipients of the PPE/school supplies was thrilled with the amount raised, “Wow this is awesome!! Great work from you and your team-we thank you!” Another recipient, Cordelia Black, Executive Director Office of School Culture for the Lansing School District, also shared her excitement “This is AWESOME!”
With increased needs this past year for personal protective equipment and new school supplies, as well as the challenges of a move back to in-person learning, our schools, teachers, parents, and students needed our support more than ever before.
We evaluated the needs and quantities for each school district and non-profit. All purchased supplies were shipped directly to those local school districts and non-profit organizations focused on youth mentorship and education. We cannot wait to see what we can do in 2022!
America Reads/Counts
America Reads/Counts is a federal work-study program that provides tutoring to K-12 students. During this year we were able to return to in-person programming with 26 tutors and six community partners.
America Reads/Counts
America Reads/Counts is a federal work-study program that provides tutoring to K-12 students. During this year we were able to return to in-person programming with 26 tutors and six community partners. This program was also able to pilot two new virtual partnerships, with the Capital Area K-12 online program offered through the Lansing School District and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians through Harbor Springs Public Schools.
New this year, America Reads/Counts established a leadership program for 3rd and 4th year tutors to apply to mentor less experienced tutors and serve as a liaison between the organization's coordinator and the MSU program staff. We were able to hire two lead tutors at our largest sites: Pattengill Biotechnical Middle School and Edgewood Village. Each week lead tutors met with their tutors to receive feedback, provide mentoring and resources, and create space for reflection to influence overall programming. These lead tutors then met with program managers to provide valuable insight to their sites and create positive change for tutors and tutees.
We are proud of our progress this year and would like to thank our partners for the America Reads Work-Study Program for 2021-22 school year.
Cavanaugh Elementary School
Cumberland Elementary School
Eastern High School
Edgewood Village
Forest View Elementary
Harbor Springs Public Schools
Lansing School District, Capital Area K-12 Online
Pattengill Biotechnical Middle School
MSU Community Engagement Scholars
MSU Community Engagement Scholar, Anna Rose Benson and community partner, Erin Buitendorp, Operations Specialist for the City of Lansing, Department of Public Service, have spent 2 years together (with the first year being 100% virtual) as part of the MSU Community Engagement Scholars Program.
MSU Community Engagement Scholars:
Partners in Enhancing the Greater Lansing Community
MSU Community Engagement Scholar, Anna Rose Benson and community partner, Erin Buitendorp, Operations Specialist for the City of Lansing, Department of Public Service, have spent 2 years together (with the first year being 100% virtual) as part of the MSU Community Engagement Scholars Program. Working together on city infrastructure projects has led to enormous success for the City of Lansing, including Anna Rose joining their team, post-graduation this spring 2022. Projects included flood education for Lansing residents and other important initiatives related to maintaining streets, sidewalks, multi-modal transit (scooters and bicycles), as well as managing historic records.
The Michigan State University (MSU) Community Engagement Scholars Program (CESP) is a partnership between the MSU Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and the MSU Office of the President. The program, now in its eighth year, has over 75 scholar alumni, including graduate student coordinators.
Students selected as Scholars are partnered with a community organization to expand campus-community relationships through various types of community-engaged learning. These partnerships are focused on community and economic development. Community partners determine the scope of the project based on the interest and opportunities available. Projects range from communication and data collection to mentoring and community education.
Scholars also participate in a bi-monthly cohort gathering where they learn more about community engagement scholarship, teambuilding, and participate in personal and professional development activities. The cohort works on a team project annually and uses their time together as a reflective process.
Erin and Anna Rose have presented their work 'Building Rapport While Apart: Mentoring in the Modern Age' at both the annual conference of the Michigan Community Service Commission and the national Points of Light Conference on Volunteerism. The focus of their presentations were the strategies they employed in building and sustaining community work through the pandemic.
Erin Buitendorp, Operations Specialist for the City of Lansing, articulated her experience with the MSU Community Engagement Scholars as follows:
Words cannot fully express the impact Anna Rose has had on our work with the City of Lansing as well as the trajectory of my career. Anna Rose's level of professionalism and ability/willingness to jump into new projects was inspiring and so appreciated in a fast-paced environment like local government. Especially during an unchartered time like the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authentic, genuine connection we made – I know nothing else like it! Her work ethic is testament to the Community Scholars program and the values instilled within the student scholars. I am incredibly grateful to have such a solid relationship and rapport with MSU, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and Anna Rose Benson. University partners like CCEL and their phenomenal students only enhance the greater Lansing community.
