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- What is Duke Alums Engage?
- What types of civic engagement activities or programs may alums pursue?
- How do I get started if I am interested in pursuing a Duke Alums Engage activity or program?
- What are the criteria for a Duke Alums Engage program?
- How do I identify a community partner?
- How do I connect with and recruit Duke Alums to participate in my activity?
- How do I finance my Duke Alums Engage program?
- What is Duke Alums Engage Week? How can I participate?
- Can my activity be a one-time event, or does it have to be a sustainable program beyond this event?
- Can I participate in Duke Alums Engage Week if I live outside the U.S.?
- Who should I contact for more information about Duke Alums Engage?
- Besides the community partner, can I also seek or partner with other organizations or university alumni clubs?
- I understand that "reflection" is an important component of the Duke Alums Engage event. How do we accomplish that component?
- How will we and the Duke Alumni Association evaluate the success of Duke Alums Engage?
- How can we find out what is going on in Duke Alums Engage events in other locations?
- What is Duke Alums Engage?
Duke Alums Engage is a Duke Alumni Association sponsored program incorporating the concepts of service learning, civic engagement, and reflection. Duke Alums Engage will support and facilitate programs to give alums active volunteer roles in their communities, within a framework that offers a chance to examine social and political issues, as well as individual questions and concerns, related to that service. Duke Alums Engage, in cooperation with regional clubs, will help alums tap the spirit embodied in Duke's commitment to knowledge in the service of society, as we get directly engaged in service ourselves, in a uniquely Duke way.
- What types of civic engagement activities or programs may alums pursue?
In 2009, the purpose of Duke Alums Engage is to "Impact the Next Generation." That means you have an extraordinarily wide latitude to develop a program that best suits the interest of your fellow alums and the needs of your community.
- How do I get started if I am interested in pursuing a Duke Alums Engage activity or program?
One approach is to have a meeting with fellow alums in your area to talk about what they are interested in and what they see as the most pressing needs in your community. Many Duke alums are already engaged in a variety of community service organizations or projects and you may decide to focus your efforts on one of those programs. The Duke Alumni office can readily provide you with a list of alums in your area and their contact information. If you are fortunate to have an active alumni club nearby, the officers of that organization will be a great starting point.
- What are the criteria for a Duke Alums Engage program?
The criteria for your effort are simple. We hope you will seize this opportunity to work with fellow alums in an effort that benefits your community and thereby impacts the next generation. Our goal is for you to join with other alums in an effort that involves LEARNING about a community need, ENGAGING in an effort to meet the need, and REFLECTING upon what you have accomplished. The Alumni office and those involved in the pilot programs are available to assist you every step of the way.
- How do I identify a community partner?
Talk to fellow alums, community leaders, and local charitable organizations. They will have great ideas for an organization, group or effort that needs immediate help. You bring the resources to the table in the form of Duke alums and negotiate a project with the community partner. on their terms. The community partner will already have a structure for volunteers and identified needs that will jump start your effort and excite your alums.
- How do I connect with and recruit Duke Alums to participate in my activity?
The Alumni Office will provide you with a detailed list and contact information for alums in your area. Start with your Duke friends and solicit their help to reach out to their Duke friends and acquaintances in the area. You may have an active Duke alumni club in your area, and the Alumni Office will get you the contact information for the club officers. Organize a lunch or simple get together to talk about the Duke Alums Engage program and gather ideas for your program. In our Pilot cities, the response from alums has been extremely positive; they welcome this opportunity to connect and participate in a meaningful way.
- How do I finance my Duke Alums Engage program?
Some projects will cost more than others and your budget will depend on your community partner and chosen project. There currently is no funding available from the Alumni Office. The pilot programs were financed by the local alumni groups through contributions from alumni participating in the project or from alums who could not participate but wanted to be a part of the effort through financial support.
- What is Duke Alums Engage Week? How can I participate?
Duke Alums Engage Week is an effort to have Duke alums throughout the world involved in civic engagement during a specified week each year. In 2009, Duke alums in approximately 20 cities will be involved in their chosen community service project during the days between October 30 and November 8. Some of those projects will continue throughout the year, depending on the community service partnership selected by the local group.
You can participate by contacting the Alumni Office and letting them know of your interest in participating. They will connect you to an existing effort or help you get started in your area.
- Can my activity be a one-time event, or does it have to be a sustainable program beyond this event?
Your activity is what you make it. It can be a one-time event or a repeatable event. It can be several hours on a single weekend day or a sustainable event that continues throughout the year. Whatever works best for your alumni group and serves the needs of your community is an appropriate civic engagement activity.
- Can I participate in Duke Alums Engage Week if I live outside the U.S.?
Yes. This is a worldwide effort of your Duke Alumni Association ("DAA"). Contact the DAA to see where it is being held internationally.
- Who should I contact for more information about Duke Alums Engage?
Contact Rachael Wheatley at the DAA.
- Besides the community partner, can I also seek or partner with other organizations or university alumni clubs?
Yes. Our goal is civic engagement by Duke alums by whatever means that best suits local alums and the specific needs of their communities. That goal may be best accomplished through partnerships with other organizations or clubs.
- I understand that "reflection" is an important component of the Duke Alums Engage event. How do we accomplish that component?
Reflection is the process of gaining meaning and understanding from experience. The key to successful Service-Learning programs is providing an opportunity for structured reflection on civic, ethical, and personal dimensions of participants' service experience.
To generate the reflection, here are the types of questions you and your fellow Alums might ask and discuss after your event finishes:
- Is the service I am doing worthwhile? How? What is meaningful service?
- How does being engaged in this civic/service effort with other Duke Alums engage me?
- What are the strengths and limitations of this organization and the work it is doing?
- What social constraints shape or inhibit the work here? What might we do to remove some of their constraints?
- How is my experience challenging or re-shaping my sense of how to "make a difference to the next generation"?
- What is difficult about this work for me? What am I learning about myself through these difficulties?
- What larger issues of social justice, policy, and politics are implicated in or raised by this partner's work? What do I know or need to learn that could make me more helpful?
14. How will we and the Duke Alumni Association evaluate the success of Duke Alums Engage?
Following the events, the Duke Alumni Association will be surveying the Alumni Chapters, the participating alums, and community partners to assess how everything went, and to see how we can improve the program.
15. How can we find out what is going on in Duke Alums Engage events in other locations?
The webpage for Duke Alums Engage will be updated regularly throughout the year. Check in for news, updates and resources.
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