Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (SVOG) Program
Lawrence University
The SVOG was initially established in 1991 through a $32,000 grant over two years from the Helen Daniels Bader Foundation to support summer volunteer and community service work. Helen Daniels Bader was a graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College. David Bader, her son and administrator of the foundation funds, was kind enough to support grants to students interested in projects throughout the world, even though the foundation was established to target service needs in the Milwaukee area, and continued funding for a couple of years. Since that time, the university has supported the program through the Volunteer and Community Service Center operating budget. The program was established to provide both programmatic support and to replace lost summer wages that would be expected of students in order to contribute to their educational expenses. Grants applications are solicited each year and are awarded based upon the strength of the application, a personal interview with a selection committee composed of faculty, students, and staff, and the availability of funds. Students are expected to design a service project or to secure acceptance to participate in an existing service program. Applicants must supply information from a site supervisor or local officials acknowledging the need for the service work and willingness to work with and support our student. Once a grant is awarded, a portion of those funds granted is supplied prior to the service experience to assist with program expenses. Funds may be allocated to provide supplies and materials for the project, to support living expenses on site, for transportation, and to replace lost earning potential during the summer months. Upon completion, the student must provide a written report of her or his work and must participate in a public presentation of their experience on campus in order to receive the remainder of the funding.
Note: Additional funding became available during the 2013-14 school year to support students involved in internship or servant-leadership focused service projects during the summer months. Students funded by the Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service award (through Career Services) and the Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment (through the Office of Community Based Learning and Research, formerly the Office of Engaged Learning) are also included in this report.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment
Year / Funded by: / Name / Project Site / Description2017 / Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC)Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Rebecca
Bernheimer / Portland, Oregon / Rebecca will be working on a research project focused on outcomes in patients with epilepsy and potential public health solutions. Her primary task will be to complete the research project through the point of submitting an abstract. The goal of this work is to come up with ways that OHSU (and potentially other healthcare providers) can better serve patients with epilepsy.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC)Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Samridhi
Tuladhar / Dhobhighat, Lalitpur, Nepal / Samridhi will be working at MEDEP in the Management Information System (MIS) and the Media Sector. She will be working with a project professional to generate quantitative report and collect data from field office, particularly data not incorporated in the MIS Database.She will also be helping the media specialist to produce communication products and materials.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Berenith
Martinez
Wolberg / Chicago, IL / During her time at the Consulate, Berenith will be serving as the Immigration department Intern. She will be going over immigration and migration case files, helping the head of the department with legal issues compromising someone's legal status in the U.S., as well as learning how immigration papers and visas work for Mexican citizens in the United States.She will also be going into courts to learn about the legal side of immigration, and to provide support to Mexican clients.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Julian
Cohen / Appleton, WI / Julian’s project is to research, compile, and write a “toolkit” or some sort of guide that other activist groups looking to do work in sexual assault and domestic violence work can use to start similar groups of their own. He will be doing research into similar organizations that built themselves into national groups. Julian will be writing suggestions for how to shape their group, as well as drawing on the research he has done to provide a general framework for how to form a group and what steps to take to begin engaging with the community.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Abigail
North / Kigali, Rwanda / Abigail will be traveling with a team of interns to Kigali, Rwanda for 6 weeks to volunteer for Health Development Initiative (HDI) on a sustainable nutrition/agriculture project. The project is centered on building mobile sac garden for a minority nomadic community with little access to any long-term nutrition source or education. Throughout this time period, they will also be giving presentations related to the sacs and nutrition/sanitation.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Hunter
Dowds / Bir, Tibet / Hunter will be returning to Bir, a small village of Tibetan refugees, to provide immediate support to several tibetan schools in and around the village proper via hands-on-instruction in science, and to establish the groundwork for a long term rabies prevention project. He will teach math, science, and English at monasteries in the area and continue to develop a relationship with physicians at the local Delek hospital and DAR, Dharamsala Animal Rescue.
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Emily
Teerink / Chicago, IL / Emily will be an unpaid intern at the Forest Preserve Foundation. The Forest Preserve Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides private grants to increase programming and provide access to Cook County’s forest preserves for all communities. The grants also support the protection and conservation of these natural spaces. Interns play a fundamental role at the foundation. She will assist with projects that the two full-time employees of the Foundation do not have time to complete on their own. This includes donor research, updating database information and planning for the Conservation Cup, the largest fundraiser of the Foundation. She will also learn about managing a non-profit organization and grant writing.
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Ming Montgomery / St. Paul, MN / Ming will work as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Mu Performing Arts Center during the process of putting on a performance.
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Tamanna
Akram / Centennial, CO / Tamanna will be focusing on the nonprofit side of Innovation Pavilion (IP)’s operations. She will work with TiE (Rockies chapter), a member of the IP community and part of the largest nonprofit in the world focusing on entrepreneurship. In addition, she will work with Playpal, a gaming platform designed to educate and motivate children to eat healthy and exercise more to reduce childhood obesity. This is an exciting project in its beginning phases so Tamanna is excited to help frame this promising initiative.
2016 / Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Abigail
North / Dehradun, India,
Patti, India,
Mussoorie, India / Abigail will be in 3 locations: One urban, one suburban, and one rural location doing public health and clinical medical activities. She will rotate between six clinics, a nursing home, a pediatric hospital, a government hospital, a community health center, a rural outpatient clinic, and a rural health education camp. Part of her time will be spent shadowing doctors while working with them individually to determine what else she can do. The rest of her time will be spent helping implement health education programs.
?? / Brittany
Neil / Appleton, WI / As an intern, Brittany will teach children in different areas of art including music and theater. This position is part of the youth development team that works to foster learning in kids. She will be talking to and communicating with program attendees as well as administrators.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Alex
Thorp / Appleton, WI / Alex will assist with the general operation of the development office, including marketing, social media, grants work, and prospect research. Other duties may include helping with the operation of the day-to-day, potentially including painting, organizing donations, and organizing rooms for new residents.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Nicole
Mitchell / Appleton, WI / This summer Nicole will work on a crew of interns to maintain SLUG. The work they will do is vital to setting up the garden for 2016-17 and for growing and selling enough produce to pay a garden manager for the next summer. Nicole will also take ownership over repairing a wooden pagoda located along the side of the garden by the river
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Sreyendra Dhakal / Kathmandu, Nepal / Sreyendra will be working as a Vocational Training and Career Counseling volunteer at Nepal Youth Foundation. He will be traveling to different rural villages of Nepal to help develop and run vocational training program for youth in those areas.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Regina
Cornish / Kigali, Rwanda / Regina will be going to Kigali, Rwanda as part of an unpaid volunteer program to support their Community of Potters Health and Development project, a community-oriented development project. Regina will be focusing on educational hygiene classes and activities, as well as creating a sustainable garden for the community. She will also be advocating for an equal and inclusive healthcare system and support education on health issues.
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Hannah Gjertson / Madison, WI / Hannah will be working as an Intern at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services with an emphasis on Maternal and Women’s Health.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Louis
Weissert / Milwaukee, WI / Louis will be the director and coordinator for a Young Scientists summer camp offered by the Urban Ecology Center of Milwaukee. He will aim to introduce mindfulness techniques, use mindfulness to help individuals overcome obstacles, and foster an appreciation for the natural environment using contemplative thought.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / PJ
Uhazie / Minneapolis, MN / PJ will be working with the Minnesota Opera company and the professional choral Ensemble, The Minnesota Singers. He will prepare promotional material, manage social media outlets, and work with the education department to support the company’s youth programs.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC)
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Mayan
Essak / Madison, WI / Mayan will be working at the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s headquarters in downtown Madison. He will be assisting FFRF staff with a variety of research projects for state/church complaints, assisting in drafting open records requests and a variety of non-legal correspondence, and completing other administrative tasks as necessary.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Ali
Fuller / Lander, WY / Ali will be and intern for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and will helping maintain the NOLS faculty library, write articles about ongoing NOLS research, and collecting and managing data.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / AJ
Williams / Chelan, WA / AJ will create short videos to covey Holden Village’s mission as a non-profit, Lutheran, retreat village focused on environmentalism, sustainable living, and community around conservation and religion.
2015 / Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service / Tierney Duffy / Chicago, IL / This summer Tierney will be interning at a non-profit called Open Books located in Chicago, IL. Her official title is Summer Literacy Intern. She will be working on a project entitled Summer Publishing Academy where students are able to write their own novels and experience the entire publishing process, from initial draft to polished prose. She is excited to be able to work directly with youth in Chicago and to learn more about what it takes to run a successful non-profit.
Betty Heistad Barrett Fund for Excellence in Civic Service & Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Leigh Kronsnoble / Twin Cities, MN / Leigh is looking forward to working with CLUES, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and fostering skills in order to engage and empower Latinos and other community members. Because of its emphasis on community and individual improvement, especially on a local level, being involved in outreach and educational enrichment is an invaluable opportunity. She is excited to learn more about the functions and importance of CLUES and how she can best support its mission.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Cady Greenslit / Appleton, WI / This summer, Cady will be working in the Sustainable Lawrence University Garden (SLUG). She will help develop urban agriculture in Appleton and will create a model for cities everywhere.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Lucy Pipkin / Minneapolis, MN / Lucy will be working with a team of interns to engage children in small group activities (such as science, art, sports, yoga, etc.) and create a safe and supportive learning environment for them. The Youth Development programs such as City Explorers, will help support children from low-income families to build confidence and social and academic competence. She is excited to get to know the kids in the program and watch them grow and change.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Shang Li / Chicago, IL / Shang will be exploring potential performing opportunities for children from “opera for orphans” project in Chicago. She is also hoping to be able to enrich her experiences in the field of non-profits in order to support any career interest in the future.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Nicole Mitchell / Chicago, IL / This summer, Nicole will be working in the Shedd Aquarium’s Teen Learning Lab. She will be supervising and providing support for teens in the lab as well as writing programming.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Hannah Braden / Appleton, WI / She will be interning at the Sustainable Lawrence University Gardens (SLUG). She will be focusing on the composting system, which she plans to improve using by using her prior experience, research, experimentation and help form the garden managers.
Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Margaret Norby / Appleton, WI / This summer, Margaret will be volunteering with the Fox Valley Memory project, as Fox Cities-based organization that aims to connect those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as provide them with opportunities to socialize. Margaret will be working closely with the project coordinator in planning activities for the organization, and hopes to apply her love of music in working with these people.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Augie-Groeschel-Johnson / Kigali, Rwanda / I will be going to Kigali, Rwanda to complete and 8-week-long internship with Health Development Initiative in Kigali, Rwanda. HDI sponsors projects for health and development throughout Rwanda. This summer I and my fellow interns will be working on a project to improve the health and resources of the village Cyaruzinge which includes starting a pig co-operative that can be used to increase the income of the community and serve as a sustainable food source.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Bimal Rajbhandari / Appleton, WI / I want to understandhow a small non-profit runs because I might want to run my own in the future.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Krizhalyn Velasquez / Kigali, Rwanda / I will be interning this summer with Health Development Initiative (HDI) through Globemed in Kigali, Rwanda. Along with three other interns, I will be working closely with HDI on the construction of a/several pig pen/s for our pig cooperative project that will enable the community to become self-sustainable, the construction of a water pipeline for our water pipeline project that will bring water closer to the people. We will also help with and learn more about grant writing.
Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation Endowment / Alex Kurki / Appleton, WI / I am excited to serve as an R&D/Marketing Intern at the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley. I will conduct donor research, write grants, conduct PR activities, and help organize special events. This will provide me with valuable real-world work experience working for an organization whose cause I care about.
2014 / Summer Volunteer Opportunity Grant (VCSC) / Cate Bentley / Appleton, WI / Cate Bentleyworked this past summer as a legal advocacy and community outreach intern at Harbor House in Appleton, WI. Working mostly with sexual assault and domestic violence advocacy. Cate will be working on the behalf of protecting the women of the Fox Valley through legal work and education in the greater community.