COE Advising Blog

If you have a passion for both education and dance, then consider becoming a member of the DePaul organization Chance to Dance. Chance to Dance provides free dance classes to children of low income families in grades K-8 through their sister company Revelations, the on-campus performance dance company for DePaul students. Chance to Dance doesn’t meet on a set schedule, but rather works with individual elementary and middle schools to find a schedule that works for their students. 

Chance to Dance provides classes in in the styles of contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop. They will begin rehearsals in Winter Quarter, and the program culminates with a recital in June at the end of the academic year. Chance to Dance will not only help you gain experience in instructing students, but you will also have an opportunity to use creativity to help children learn and express themselves.

Chance to Dance started holding meetings in October and will be organizing a retreat during the month of November. They will also be attending a production of The Nutcracker on December 10^th. If Chance to Dance seems like an organization that fits you and your talents, you can request to join through OrgSync. You can also send an email to the organization president at agonza79@mail.depaul.edu.

Do you have Friday afternoons open? Looking for an opportunity to volunteer your tutoring services? Then you’re going to want to check out this volunteer opportunity with DePaul Volunteers Serving Youth. DVSY meets on Friday afternoons at 2:15 on the third floor of the Student Center, between the UMIN office and the Office of New Student and Family Engagement. They leave campus at about 2:30 and drive to East Garfield Park to tutor at the Marillac House. DVSY tutors students at the Marillac House and they usually return to campus around 5:30. It is so easy to volunteer with DVSY; all you have to do it show up on Friday afternoons!

The program that DVSY helps out with at the Marillac House is called Hope Jr. While at the Marillac House, they work with students ages 5-14. Some days each tutor helps one or two students each, but sometimes there can be a whole table of students all working on different things. Their goal is to have each student finish their homework and still have time to do a fun activity with the students at the end of the tutoring session.

Participating in DePaul Volunteers Serving Youth will allow you to work with elementary and middle school students and get a lesson in adaptability, which is an important skill for all teachers to have. Some days the organization might see ten students, but most days there are upwards of fifty students that are being helped by DePaul students! The students at Marillac House come from both public and private schools in the area and are at different levels of academic proficiency. DePaul Volunteers Serving Youth prides itself as a service organization that has members who are able to be flexible and adapt to new situations.

For more information on this volunteer opportunity, you can email dvsw.depaul@gmail.com, check out their OrgSync profile, or join their group on Facebook.

If you’re still looking for an organization to join on campus, have no fear! We’ve got another great organization that would love some new members, the DePaul chapter of Best Buddies. Best Buddies, an organization based on friendship, forms bonds between DePaul students and special education high school students. The DePaul chapter partners with Northside Learning Center, an all-special education Chicago Public High School. Because Best Buddies works with students in the Chicago Public School system, you will have a chance to see the special education programs function within CPS and have the chance to work with high school age students. Best Buddies is also dedicated to the education of their members and are sure to teach members about different intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

Best Buddies meets once a quarter as a group to plan out social events that take place on and off the Northside Learning Center campus. The social events are also held monthly, usually on weekends.  Some past events that Best Buddies have enjoyed include a Halloween Party, bowling, Men’s basketball games and more.

Another component of the Best Buddies program is the opportunity to form a one-to-one friendship. Those members who are matched with a Northside Learning Center student are then required to meet with their buddy twice a month and communicate with them through phone, texting, or online means once a week.

Best Buddies first event will be a Meet & Greet on October 6^th from 6 to 8 pm in Coretlyou Commons. Then, they will have a Matching Party on October 19th at Northside Learning Center followed by a Halloween Party on September 28^th at DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, and November Movie & Game Day on November 10th at DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus.

To become a member of the organization, either email depaulbestbuddies@gmail.com, add the organization on OrgSync, or fill out an application at www.bestbuddiesonline.org

In addition to student organizations that relate to education majors, DePaul offers volunteer opportunities that will also help you to informally polish skills that you will use with students when you approach student teaching or your internship. University Ministry offers many volunteer opportunities that will allow you to give back to the Chicago community. One volunteer opportunity that University Ministry offers is A Safe Haven, which meets every other Friday at 1801 S. Wabash, a site that provides permanent supportive housing for residents who are, or have previously been, homeless. Residents are supported by counseling and training to help increase their employment skills.

University Ministry takes groups of students to Safe Haven on alternating Fridays, where they share information on topics that the residents have chosen. These information sessions can be on topics like budgeting, using computers, and the Internet. You will be able to interact with the residents in an educational setting, and you will work to relay the information to residents in a clear and engaging way.  Also, after each session, University Ministry reflects with volunteers on the experience and will provide volunteers with a meal or snack.

For more information, please contact Roseann Palermo, Community Service Outreach Intern, in University Ministry at roseann.palermo@gmail.com.  You can learn more about A Safe Haven at http://www.asafehaven.org.

One DePaul student organization that is seeking to make a difference in the Chicago community is Peer Health Exchange. If you are interested in teaching health workshops to high school students who don’t have health classes included in their regular curriculum, then this is the organization for you. Peer Health Exchange is currently seeking new members who want to develop their teaching and leadership skills. This organization is the perfect way to supplement any observation hours you might be doing this quarter.

 As a part of this organization, you’ll need to commit four to six hours a week for the 2012-2013 academic year to help teach workshops to high school students. This will give you practice being in front of the classroom, as you will be teaching lessons each week on health topics. No matter which subject level or grade level you plan on teaching, this organization will help you gain experience in the field. You’ll travel to different high schools in the community, make valuable connections, and learn a lot!

Peer Health Exchange is having information sessions on Tuesday, September 18^th at 7pm and Thursday, September 20^th at 6pm. The sessions will be held in the John T. Richardson Library in Room 400. They will have free food, as well as information on the application process. The applications are already online at www.peerhealthexchange.org/apply and there is a priority deadline of September 14^th.

Have questions? You can contact the organization at depaul@peerhealthexchange.org.

No plans for Sunday afternoon? Well, we’ve got you covered. The Office of Student Involvement has the perfect event that will help kick-off our quarter of “getting involved” in all that DePaul has to offer on campus. The Lincoln Park campus Involvement Fair will be held this Sunday, September 9^th from 11 am-3 pm in the Quad. The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny, which is perfect for walking around the Involvement Fair and checking out all of the organizations different tables.

At the Involvement Fair, you will be able to stop by different tables and chat with representatives from each student organization. They will have informational brochures, pictures of events, and sometimes even giveaways like t-shirts and cups. The Involvement Fair is open to all DePaul University students, and it’s a great way to sample each organization to find your best fit.

There will be a huge range of organizations there, from fraternities and sororities to honors societies, service and volunteer organizations to club sports, you’re sure to find an organization that interests you and gets you excited about being involved on campus.

Our challenge to you is to attend the Involvement Fair. Bring a friend or two and hit up the tables, snag some giveaways, and meet some new people! And, if your schedule is already booked for Sunday afternoon, do not fear. A Loop Campus Involvement Fair will be held on September 12 from 11 am-5 pm in the DePaul Center on the Concourse Level.