No Longer Bowling Alone

What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.
- R. Putnam

While our GameChangers are busily making impacts in their communities, the Get In the Game team is working with experts to help them be even more effective. On Monday February 5th experts from The George Washington University’s (GWU) Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSHED)met with the Get In The Game team to share their expertise and experience with helping GWU students contribute to projects that address the needs of their communities. 

“Community service people are share-ers.” said GWU’s Amy Cohen, Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. And clearly so are the leaders and educators who shared their wisdom along with GSHED’s dean, Michael Feuer. The GITG community projects’ efforts will be taking our lead from the generous contributions of the GSHED know-how.

The GITG course we are developing for national implementation will include a mandatory community project. We want to be sure that the process works smoothly for our facilitators, GameChangers and community organizations. GWU is helping us with the logistics, research, experience and processes to ensure that every GameChanger has the opportunity to engage in projects that bring a meaningful change to the people in their neighborhoods. And in return students improve their leadership and social skills, improve their career and college prospects and build a valuable network of community contacts who can help GameChangers bridge into a successful future. Our GameChangers have already held a clothes drive, set up collected and distributed backpacks full of school supplies for needy students, and met with the Department of Education to share their plans for a more diverse faculty to teach International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses in high schools. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for our GameChagers!

GameChangers are listeners, planners and most importantly DO-ers