Anti-Poverty Service Learning
Allegra Hardin | Omaha, Nebraska
Campus Compact AmeriCorps Member at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Service Learning Academy
Infographic from the UNO Service Learning Academy’s new anti-poverty initiative webpage.
Anti-Poverty Focus
Goals of the project were to use research and development
to create infrastructure for educators to implement service
learning projects that support high poverty areas in the Omaha
metropolitan area. These goals connect with the Service
Learning Academy’s (SLA) mission to facilitate community-
wide partnerships, collaborate on community-based research,
and support rigourous service learning courses to transform
and improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and globally.
Accomplishments: Progress this year to meet these project
goals incuded the following.
• Fostering connections through presentations and
attendance at community meetings
• Hosting two virtual share out sessions for SLA stakeholders,
including K-12 educators, University of Nebraska at Omaha
(UNO) faculty, and community partners
• Developing a new priority areas website for the SLA
focused on anti-poverty work, redlining, microaggressions,
and asset-based community engagement
• Curating a collection of curriculum, resources, and
materials for anti-poverty service learning courses
Impact: The accomplishments from this year will continue to
affect the SLA’s anti-poverty goals.
• Websites developed provide resources to educators and
students about how to address poverty through service
learning projects, philanthropy, and education
• Curriculum and materials collected bring awareness to the
commonality of poverty and opportunities for advocacy
• Community partnerships highlight assets in the
community and the ressources available to support
people experiencing poverty
Capacity Building Impact Effects of COVID-19
Education is an avenue out of poverty... Obstacles: The unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic
but, if students are not The SLA applied for an As an AmeriCorps created unique challenges for the VISTA project.
in school and graduate, AmeriCorps member to member in VISTA project • Difficulty making connections with new anti-poverty
they perpetuate a cycle build materials that clear year 2, I built capacity
of poverty. Service a path for intentional for anti-poverty service service learning partners without in-person meetings
learning is a way K-12 outreach with high learning by creating • School scheduling ambiguity and uncertainty regarding
and higher education can poverty K-12 schools to infrastructure, expanding teaching delivery impeded service learning project creation
make learning relevant foster service learning community partnerships,
to students through relationships focused on and securing long-term • Rising local COVID-19 cases during the summer, fall,
community engagement. anti-poverty work. resources. and winter created hesitancy to brainstorm future service
Capacity Building Efforts: Building capacity for the SLA’s learning projects
anti-poverty initative resulted in the following successes.
• Collecting over 70 academic articles with research and
• Constant policy changes left K-12 educators overwhelmed
and not as responsive to outreach attempts
best practices for different types of anti-poverty work
• Over 60 combined views on informational videos related
to anti-poverty service learning
• More than 30 different project resources--including Using the Social Determinants of Health to conceptualize poverty, students can gain a holistic
curriculum, activities, and trainings--available in the anti- understanding of how poverty impacts every aspect of a person’s life.
Challenges
poverty service learning collection
Barriers to Success: Most challenges this year related to
COVID-19 and are specifically noted in the next section, but
there were a couple other barriers unrelated to the pandemic.
• Omaha Public Schools district limitations with gathering
The UNO Service Learning Academy hosted their annual Service Learning Seminar via
survey data Zoom, interacting with participants through survey and chat features.
• Technological limitations for storing anti-poverty resources
that are accessible to stakeholders Opportunities: In spite of the challenges, COVID-19 also
allowed for new growth in a virtual space.
Future Recommendations: Future AmeriCorps members can • Pivoted to online service learning options
• Update and implement surveys for Omaha Public Schools
• Developed asychronous and sychronous virtual trainings
district • Hosted virtual share out sessions to connect with
• Expand surveys and anti-poverty service learning to other
stakeholders and share new service learning information
school districts • Provided time and motivation to develop online anti-
• Continue attending community meetings poverty service learning resources
• Plan share out sessions, trainings, and other events to
engage host site stakehodlers with anti-poverty work Future Sustainability: Many of the COVID-19 adaptations
New graphic created to represent the UNO Service Learning Academy’s priority areas.
• Update website content and resources related to the host created sustainable practices for my host site, such as
Sustainability: The SLA’s anti-poverty initative has become site’s anti-poverty initative creating resource videos, utilizing virtual share out sessions,
more sustainable through the VISTA project by
Lessons Learned: The challenges faced this year provided and recording sychronous trainings for later use. In a post-
• Developing a “living website” that can be updated and
opportunities for personal growth. pandemic context, these sustainable practices can continue to
adapted to support stakeholders’ service learning goals
• Learned skills in flexible planning and adaptability grow to allow for greater accessibility in information sharing.
• Establising a comprehensive inventory for anti-poverty
resources for stakeholders to use and contribute to • Gained experience in outreach and virtual facilitation
• Creating materials to train students, educators, and • Recognized my passion for community engagement
community partners about anti-poverty service learning which empowered me to apply for doctoral programs