Drexel program pays students who volunteer

Gonzaga students gave over 80,000 hours of their time this past year in service to the Spokane community. For the second consecutive year, CCASL is helping to make that volunteer work even more rewarding.

The Drexel Leaders Program, named after community activist St. Katharine Drexel, allows students to receive scholarship money for time spent serving the community. The program was founded last year in conjunction with the nationally-based Students in Service. While Students in Service is supported by grant money from AmeriCorps, the Drexel Leaders Program is run completely by CCASL.

"We at CCASL found that students were doing a lot of service but weren't really connecting to each other," Coordinator of Student Engagement Luisa Gallagher said. "We wanted to be able to bring everyone together to look at leadership and justice in a group setting."

Students involved in the Drexel Leaders Program attend bimonthly, hourlong meetings at CCASL to connect with other volunteers, discuss their unique experiences, and learn about community leadership.

"We're helping students to understand who they are in the context of the community and to better understand how to serve others," Gallagher said.

Drexel students commit to different terms of service depending on the flexibility of their academic schedules. The 450-hour term, which equals 12 hours of service per week throughout the academic year, is accompanied by a $1,250 scholarship while the 300-hour term, eight hours per week, comes with a $1,000 scholarship.

"Gonzaga puts so much emphasis on social justice and being involved; Students in Service is really sharing that mission in offering a money incentive for students volunteering," CCASL's Students in Service work-study Rachael Wolf said.

According to Gallagher, 24 students participated in the Drexel Leaders Program and Students in Service last year and volunteered in many different placements. Students worked in shelters, crisis centers and soup kitchens, as well as completing practicums in teaching or nursing.

"Some people are involved with on-campus programs, like GUSR and mentoring, and others do off-campus things, like help out at Vanessa Behan's or the Red Cross. It all counts toward Drexel and Students in Service," Wolf said.

Students track their service hours, including program meetings on time sheets to be turned in to CCASL.

"CCASL's role is helping to facilitate these students' development while walking alongside them in service," Gallagher said, adding that she hopes to expand the programs reach to include more student leaders in the future.

To find out more about becoming involved in the Drexel Leaders Program or Students in Service, contact Luisa Gallagher at gallagher@gonzaga.edu or Rachael Wolf at rwolf2@zagmail.gonzaga.edu.