Parents

For many Reedies, volunteering is a way to escape the Reed “bubble,” where life is focused solely on classes and campus activities. But SEEDS provides more than an escape, says Natalie Marsh, community service and internship coordinator. The benefits are noted in what the SEEDS acronym represents: Students for Education, Empowerment, and Direct Service.

“SEEDS is about service, but it’s also about experiential education,” she says.

Students gain experience through their voluntary efforts, and some find summer or part-time jobs. They may even work their way into an internship.

Instilling a sense of giving to others comes early. Freshmen learn about SEEDS when they receive their orientation materials. They can travel off campus, where they spend three days volunteering at nonprofit agencies and spend the evenings making friends with other freshmen and older students.

Reflection plays a big role in the SEEDS experience, Marsh says. Students are asked to think about the skills they are learning and how those skills may apply to other aspects of their lives, including careers.

“We ask how these skills might fit into their long-term goals and what organizations might benefit. We want to leave them with the idea that while they are giving to the community, they also are developing themselves.”

During the year SEEDS offers opportunities to volunteer a few hours a month at an organization, feeding the homeless, helping out in a community garden, or painting a hallway at a women’s shelter.

“They might distribute food at the Food Bank, and that might spark a desire to do more,” Marsh adds. “They start to think about life outside of Reed. They learn to communicate with people who are different from themselves.”

Such work could develop into a regular volunteer habit, where the pay-off is valuable skills training.

Those who answer phones at a crisis hotline, for instance, are trained to counsel troubled callers. Others volunteering at community outreach centers may develop computer database programs or practice interviewing skills with clients. School tutors explore ways to effectively teach youngsters.

Some SEEDS opportunities come with a small stipend. A federal work-study program pays 75 percent of the wages of a student working at a nonprofit agency. The other 25 percent is paid by Reed. Students have used their work-study internships at organizations that include Providence Hospital, Clackamas Women’s Shelter, and Cleveland High School.

Students also develop their own internships at organizations where they have volunteered. They often are given challenging projects “because the agencies know the students will follow through,” Marsh says. “It’s really a nice way for Reed to give back to the community.