service learning

• Acts of service can facilitate the realization of how one's talents and gifts can be used to help others and create change in the community and in one's self
• Service learning is connected to Mandala's Leadership domain and supports many areas of learning: leading through example, sharing your voice, taking peaceful action for what you believe in, using individual strengths to support group needs and contribute to a common goal and acting with others in mind
• Service includes: volunteer work, acts of kindness towards everyone you come in contact with, attention to improving personal relationships, your relationship with yourself and following your dreams...
• It also can be especially helpful for individuals who could benefit from a new perspective and whose personal struggles are obstacles towards actively engaging with others and the environment- it gets you out of your own mind!

• For inspiration, visit the service & leadership playlist on Mandala's YouTube channel

Ideas by Learning Style:

Kinesthetic- Have a dance marathon, a sports event, a walk-a-thon or obstacle course fundraiser; dance together in a park and invite others to join in the fun- getting people to smile and release their cares through movement is a quick and easy way to spread kindness

Visual/Spatial- Watch some of the videos in the service & leadership playlist for inspiration to get started; create artwork to sell to family and friends and donate the proceeds to charity.

Auditory/Musical- Use music as an entry point into helping spark the spirit of service. Check out the website: forthesender for some beginning inspiration. The songwriters and musicians create songs from people's letters of hope, tragedy and triumph and donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity of the sender's choice. The concept and the letters themselves provide many ideas for acts of service.

Interpersonal- Invite a group of friends over to collaborate on an awareness or fundraiser event; Do secret favors for family, friends and neighbors; Visit children who are in the hospital or people in nursing homes; Plan a flash activism event- It doesn't take a lot of time or resources to help others.  All it takes is creativity, passion and action.  Come up with an idea for a quick and easy way that you can raise money or awareness for a cause you care about.  Put your idea into action and Mandala will donate a percentage of what you make to your chosen cause. Read my blog about the Flash Activism Project to learn more. 

Intrapersonal- Gather your thoughts and ideas in a journal entry and use them to discover the best ways to serve others; use your sensitivity to others' feelings to come up with a way to help others learn the same, such as helping reduce bullying in school.

Linguistic/Read-Write- Write letters to children who have life-threatening illnesses- check out sendkidstheworld for information; write letters to your town council about ideas for improvement in your community; start a blog to share your ideas and acts of service to inspire others to start their own

Logical-Math/Sequential- Conduct a survey of people in your school or community to research opinions about what changes people would like to see, what causes are important to people, or what kinds of things make them happy. Translate your findings into an idea for a service project.

Consider how you can help these deserving organizations...

Stand Up for Kids- mission: ending the cycle of youth homelessness

Jenna Drunk Center- main programs are teen girls' leadership and helping bereaving families

Dream Street Foundation- camp experiences for children with life-threatening illnesses

Brittany's Hope- helping children worldwide through a variety of different projects

Create Now- helps at-risk youth in Southern California through arts mentoring

Kids' Turn- provides support services to children and parents going through divorce and separations

*If there's a non-profit that inspires you and you'd like me to add it, please email me!: carly@mandalalearning.com *

Quotes:

- The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others 

- Be the change you wish to see in the world
~ Gandhi

- Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world

- What one outstanding person does, others will try to do. The standards such people create will be followed by the whole world

- They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them
~ Bhagavad Gita (Easwaran translation)

- Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity

- Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill 
~ Buddha

- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? ~ MLK jr.