OPTIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT:

The optional Community Service Learning Project can be done instead of doing the 3rd collection sheet. Total points are the same as for the collection sheet, but the due date is not until the end of the 12th week. Students wishing to do a community service learning project must obtain approval before the end of the 8th week. While doing a community service learning project is likely to take more time than doing a collection sheet, the rewards can make the effort very worthwhile. The goal of this assignment is to promote opportunities for folklore students to take part in meaningful community service learning in areas such as oral history, local K-12 schools, and presentations to civic organizations. Simply stated, your project should incorporate some aspect of folklore, provide a service to the community, and requires a one-page written summary and analysis (what you did, how it relates to folklore, why you did it, how you did it, how the community benefited, and what you learned by doing it). If you are considering doing a community service learning project, please take a close look at a student example. Lastly, below I have listed a few possible ideas, but you are by no means limited to the examples below:

Contribute to the Veteran's History Project: Created by Congress, the project aims to collect oral histories from veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. Do you know a vet that you can interview? Besides the oral interviews, the project is also looking for related photographs, diaries, and other documents. To learn about how you can participate, go to www.loc.gov/folklife/vets . If interested in contributing to this worthy cause, you might also want to take a brief look at the Library of Congress' A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques.

Create and deliver a talk to a local K-12 school: Are you a long-time quilt maker? Do you make rustic furniture? Do you sing folk songs? Are you great story teller? Do you own a kimono? If so, you can do a bit of research on the background of the topic, work with a local K-12 teacher, and offer to do a short presentation for the kids.

Create a display to be used by a local K-12 teacher: Are you a talented artist? A good graphic designer? If so, you could research and create an educational display on any of a hundred relevant folklore topics. For example, you could create a display featuring Mexican proverbs for a Cinco de Mayo Day celebration, a display depicting a local legend like the Lemurians, or a display that show how a traditional rite of passage like marriage differs in two countries.

Volunteer to read a selection of Fairy Tales to children at a local library

Create and donate a piece of folk art or craft to a local non-profit organization

Any other project that applies what you are learning about folklore in such a manner that the community somehow benefits from your learning and service.