5. Demonstrate and Celebrate Impact, Growth, and Learning

Philadelphia
 
Demonstration involves having participants show what they know and what they’ve done. Celebration (sometimes called recognition) invites participants, partners, and community members to acknowledge both the growth and learning, reinforcing participants’ commitments to interfaith dialogue and community building.
 
Research shows that celebration without demonstration inadvertently undervalues the learning, growth, and impact. Similary, demonstration without celebration does less to reinforce the commitment and encourage future commitments. That’s why it’s important to do some of both, based on your learning, growth, and service goals.

Demonstration

  • Use the results and artifacts from reflection as part of the demonstration and celebration (with permission from the youth who created them).
  • Select demonstration methods that match participants’ interests, skills, experience, and learning styles. Download (PDF) these creative ideas to demonstrate growth and learning from Service-Learning in Community-Based Organizations.
  • Use the participants as experts. Have them prepare and lead an inservice workshop for the staff of community-based agencies and other settings. Encourage participating faith communities to have teams of youth present what they did and learned to leaders, adults, and youth groups, as appropriate, in the religious institutions.
  • Have young people document their learnings about issues and their reflections about their interfaith encounters to share with others through social media, a letter to the editor, or other way of telling your story.

Celebration and Recognition

  • Hold a culminating event to bring together everyone involved in the project and provide a focal point for demonstrating and celebrating both learning and service. The event might be a traditional awards banquet or ceremony or a less-formal picnic or potluck. Effective culminating events recognize the efforts and impact of youth and their community partners.
  • Report the results of the service to all the youth who served. Encourage participants to feel proud of the work they have done, and to recognize and appreciate their involvement in a broader movement.
  • Offer tangible symbols and reminders, such as certificates, plaques, T-shirts, or pins. Or offer small gifts, such as mugs, key chains, baseball caps, flowers, books, music CDs, or gift certificates.
  • Nominate outstanding youth for local and national awards and scholarships. Consider, for example, the President’s Volunteer Service Awards, which are given to individuals of all ages who demonstrate a commitment to service.
  • Get feedback from key stakeholders and participants, including community partners and those who received the service of the group. Gather ideas for the next project.
  • Coordinate with schools so that youth get service credits on their transcripts. These can be ways to meet graduation requirements, club requirements (such as National Honor Society), or college expectations.
  • Encourage participating religious institutions to honor the youth who serve during worship services or other intergenerational events.
  • Send thank-you notes to organizers, funders, and anyone else who assisted with your interfaith service-learning project.

More Resources