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The Sarah Boyer '08 Community Service Fellowship is given each year in order to fund a summer service project in the community of Grinnell. The fellowship is designed to allow one or more students to carry out a project to serve the common good. There are no restrictions on the class year of applicants, and the purpose of the fellowship is defined broadly so as to encourage student creativity about how they can best use their particular skills, talents, and interests to serve their community. In 2009-10, the fellowship amount will be $3,500; if desired, fellowship recipients may also be allowed to reside rent-free in college-owned housing for the duration of their project (subject to annual approval by Student Affairs). Fellows will submit either a final narrative or presentation after their summer, reflecting on what worked well; the impact that this summer had on them and their community; and what they learned, along with a final financial accounting of how the funds were spent.
"Grinnell for me was more than an outstanding liberal arts experience where I made friends with people my age from all over the world, read books, discussed theories, and made arguments it was also an opportunity to build myself a home in small town Iowa. Here, where Midwestern friendliness is the reality, my tendency to conversation led me to all kinds of characters: Homer, a 97 year old retired United Church of Christ minister, Doris who lives next door to the Phoenix, Lucille who used to do all the cosmetic work for the local funeral home, Dewy and Jo who moved here about five years ago, or Betty who spent much of her life teaching and working on the west coast and has now moved back to the home in which she was raised. When returning to Grinnell as an alumna, I not only find a host of college friends but also a community in the larger fabric of this unique Iowa town."
Students interested in applying for the Sarah Boyer '08 Community Service Fellowship should submit the following by 5:00pm on Monday, February 1, 2010 to the Office of Social Commitment, 1233 Park St.:
- A completed Scholarship Application Permission Form and Waiver.
- A 3-4 page essay, double-spaced and printed single-sided, describing the project itself, likely outcomes, why you wish to undertake it, and what this project means to you. At the top of the first page, please list the names, class years, and email addresses for all project applicants. One of these applicants should be designated as the "Principal Applicant;" further correspondance about the project will be with this person.
- A one-page proposed budget for using the fellowship funds. Students may pay for their living expenses (rent, food, etc.) from the project budget.
- If your project requires you to partner with a local organization, please provide a letter from that organization stating their support for your project.
- One letter of recommendation, which can but does not have to come from a Grinnell College faculty or staff member. If multiple students are involved in the project, please have the letter written about the "Principal Applicant," named above.
Please ensure that all application materials conform with these submission guidelines.
Priority will be given to projects that help establish connections, promote community, and begin conversations in the community of Grinnell; to those applicants for whom this project is their primary engagement; and to those projects that keep their applicants in Grinnell for a majority of the summer.
The selection committee will interview finalists for the Sarah Boyer '08 Community Service Fellowship in mid- to late-February, and will name awardees soon thereafter.
All applicants are expected to adhere to these ethical guidelines.
Doug Cutchins
Director of Social Commitment
1233 Park St.
cutchins@grinnell.edu
x4408
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