“When I think about our work and my responsibilities at Need in Deed, I am reminded of Frederick Buechner's definition of 'vocation'—'vocation is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.' We are helping students find that intersection in their lives, just as we, their adult coaches and mentors, are continually redefining our own place in the world.”

“I love looking at the world through an educator’s lens. I think learning to reframe ‘mistakes’ as ‘learning opportunities' helped me develop a more balanced perspective on life.”

“Teachers in our Network say working on their service-learning projects is their best time in the classroom. It leads to better classroom discussions and helps kids problem solve and think logically. I think this is something all our students should be doing.”

“Teachers are under so many pressures, it would be easy for them to give up on service-learning in their classroom. But in the same way that My Voice gives students the chance to contribute to their own learning, I'm proud that we are able to give our teachers the time, space, and resources to develop their skills as service-learning practitioners.”

“As I approach the challenge of finding meaningful ways to support our teacher consultants in their ongoing work, I am inspired by the words of Peggy McIntosh and Emily Style of the SEED Project at Wellesley: 'If we aspire to student-centered learning, we need also to be thinking in terms of faculty-centered learning by teachers.' I believe the success of professional learning communities lies in this model.”

“When I think about our young people, I wonder who the leaders will be, what will their priorities be and who will they represent. I feel educators need to be open to teaching and learning strategies like service-learning. That way, schools become places where students acquire knowledge and skills and cultivate their ‘moral compass.’”

“As a former teacher and Philadelphia public school student, I see the need for kids to have authentic learning experiences and form connections to their communities. I think it’s invaluable to teachers that we help facilitate that process. It enables teachers to know more about their kids’ lives and helps their students develop academic skills tied to the core curriculum.”