FAU Students Benefit from Writing for Nonprofit Service Learning Hours with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Palm Beach and Martin Counties!

As an English major, enrolling in one of Florida Atlantic University’s Special Topics courses, Writing for Nonprofit ENC 4930, turned into a life changing event.  Not only do we study different types of national and local nonprofit organizations, but we also were able to research and choose a nonprofit organization we are interested in completing service learning hours or an internship.  FAU works with several nonprofit organizations through different partnerships, so we had a nice list to choose from – covering many areas of nonprofit.  I worked with Upward Bound, America Reads, and Ameri Corps while earning my first degree at Indiana University, so my obvious choice was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Palm Beach and Martin Counties.  Although I am on a different side of the volunteer spectrum for the agency, it is essentially just as important as mentoring.  Without the grant writing, community involvement, partnerships gained, and our place in social media BBBS would not be able to mentor as many children and make such a big difference in the communities.  My volunteer hours are wonderful learning experiences at Big Brothers Big Sisters as well as being given the opportunity to write in a “real world” situation by applying what I learn in class to a professional setting.  The service learning hours I completed at the agency provided me with valuable information required to explore the nonprofit world.  I have studied and even written my own grant through the nonprofit organization, mentored by Kara Justi.  Volunteering at BBBS compliments the learning from my class by giving the opportunity for hands-on-experience.  I have learned so much about the agency as a mentoring program as well as a small business.  Kara turned this into a meaningful experience by focusing my group and I on different nonprofit websites that provide so much useful information I take back to the classroom some days and writing our own grants some days.  The office atmosphere at BBBS in West Palm Beach is ideal for someone just getting out of college that wants to give back to the community.  Kara is supportive and her small staff gets a lot done working collaboratively in a relaxed environment – a business casual, professional position that changes at-risk children’s lives for the better every day.  The semester has gone by so fast; it will not be easy to depart from this insightful, significant learning experience when the semester is over.

Thank you so much Kara and the BBBS staff!!!


-Brandi, Service Learning Student