PLEASE NOTE: This program no longer exists. This webpage is kept for archival purposes only, and is out of date.

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Successful completion of the S.C.P.P. includes the following steps:

The volunteer hours requirement ensures that SCPP participants have the needed skills, in addition to their knowledge base, to enter successfully into a post-graduation service opportunity. SCPP applicants are advised to think carefully about what activities will best help them prepare for post-graduation service work.

Students in the Social Commitment Preparatory Program are required to complete a total of 200 hours of long-term, hands-on volunteer work during their Junior and Senior years at Grinnell. All volunteer hours must include active engagement with the population being served. Students track their own hours, and are encouraged to work with a variety of populations. Students are also encouraged to complete volunteer hours during off-campus study. Participation in a Fall Alternative Break counts as 20 hours of volunteer work, while participation in a Spring Alternative Break counts as 40 hours of volunteer work. Because the goal of the volunteer hours is to provide students with a sustained, committed service experience, students are expected to participate in community service over the course of their involvement with the SCPP, and not fulfill their 200 hour requirement in one semester. To that end, students are expected to perform a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 75 hours over any one semester, and a maximum of 40 hours over any one break. Within this framework, volunteer hours may be earned during work-study or academic year internships at community service sites. However, hours worked during the summer experience may not also count as volunteer hours; for example, an internship can count either towards the summer experience requirement or towards the volunteer hours requirement, but not both. Confused? Ask Doug or Amy for more info.