By EMELY ARROYO
One English class is helping fulfill BYU's mission of teaching students lifelong learning and service. English 415R, a service learning class, requires students to write a formal document for a real client.
'The class has three purposes ... writing a professional document, managing a large project where students create a document for a real client and working with non-profit organizations,' said Beverly Zimmerman, assistant professor of English. 'Students also learn software programs to help create visuals and graphs for their final presentations.'
During Fall semester of 1997, five groups of three to four students worked with various local, non-profit organizations.
The first group worked with Respite Care for Utah County.
'To care for someone who is bed-ridden is really demanding,' said Brian Jensen, a senior from Orem majoring in English. 'Respite Care takes care of developmentally disabled children while their families are able to take a break.'
'I learned that a lot of non-profits want to improve the community in some way, but they don't know how to get secure funding to achieve all their goals, and that's where we could help them out,' Jensen said. His group wrote a grant proposal to the Annie Taylor Dee Foundation asking for funding to benefit RCUC.
The second group worked for Recreation And Habilitation services. 'RAH helps mentally and physically disabled people to transition into the community,' said Ingrid Kellmer, a senior from Seattle, Wash., majoring in English. 'It ultimately helps build their self-esteem.'
Kellmer's group put together an informational brochure that RAH can use to educate people about their organization.
'(The brochure) contains an overall description of the organization and what RAH has to offer to its clients, parents of clients, donors and volunteers,' said Kellmer. 'Our main focus was to come up with a tight brochure addressing all those audiences.'
The third group wrote a proposal to receive funding for a jail industries program. They worked with the Utah County Sheriff's Office and submitted a grant proposal to the Burne Memorial Foundation, an institution which provides assistance to law enforcement agencies on a national level.
'Each state is allotted a certain amount of money to assist local law enforcement, and if this proposal is successful, it would make Utah County a safer place to live and help prevent career criminals,' said Cami Hill, a senior from Vancouver, Wash., majoring in English. 'They have proven that inmates who work while they are incarcerated are less likely to return to jail.'
Hill said this class helped her learn how to write a proposal, a helpful job skill, but it also required her to actually work for a non-profit organization instead of simply donating money to it.
'I would be willing to volunteer my time in this way again, but probably I would wait until I was no longer a student,' Hill said.
The fourth group worked for the Utah County American Cancer Society. They gathered updated information about the local chapter and designed a web site for them.
'First, I got to improve my internet skills; second, I was able to see how a more professional document is done,' said Corbett Hansen, a graduate student from Arlington, Texas. 'We had to put a little more into it because I knew it was a professional document many people would look at, not just a paper for a teacher to grade.'
'Third, and probably the most gratifying part, was helping someone who needs it, but who doesn't have the money to create their own website,' Hansen said.
The fifth group worked with Habitat for Humanity. They wrote a proposal requesting $3,685 from the Ashton Foundation.
'Our proposal was specifically engineered to provide funds for landscaping three habitat houses expected to be built in 1998,' said Anne Jacobs, a senior from Salem, Miss., majoring in social science teaching. 'I feel like I have done something significant. To me, it's important that these people get sod in their front yard.'
Jacobs said Habitat for Humanity not only builds houses for people, but it also provides an informal support network for those who use their services.
'This class is a way to learn practical skills while still learning in a real, live situation where students can be of service to someone else,' Zimmerman said. 'Hopefully they are learning the value of non-profits and fostering that desire to volunteer in the future.'
Although English 415R is listed as an English elective, students from all majors are invited to sign up for the course.