Service Opportunities for Majors in
JOURNALISM

Community service involves applying your energy, enthusiasm, skills, and desire to make a difference to social issues that concern you. It is an excellent way to gain hands-on experience, enhance job-related skills, explore career options, and meet real community needs. The following are just a few examples of how you can get involved in service related to majors in journalism:

· ADVERTISING:
Help a non-profit organization create a publicity campaign; work with a non-profit organization on recruiting needs; design logos, annual reports, identity packages and brochures for non-profit organizations and community agencies; help a non-profit organization create a public awareness campaign.

· BROADCAST NEWS:
Help a local news show or radio program design a weekly community service show; work with a local station to create a "volunteers needed" spot in a news program; hold workshops in schools on broadcast careers; volunteer with non-profits that protect free speech and encourage bias-free reporting; volunteer with a local cable channel that focuses on community issues; help children produce a program on a local cable channel.

· NEWS EDITORIAL:
Write or be an editor for a campus paper; write for a paper that focuses on social justice issues or other issues that concern you; submit articles or editorials on issues that concern you to local papers; volunteer at a local school or community center and give workshops on journalistic techniques, how to be a discriminating consumer of newspapers and magazines and issues of free speech; teach nursing home residents, drug rehabilitation clients, or homeless shelter residents how to produce a weekly publication for their facility; volunteer with an organization that helps children record and create stories about their lives.

· PUBLIC RELATIONS:
Help a non-profit organization with a publicity campaign; volunteer with a volunteer clearinghouse to help recruit volunteers; write press releases for non-profit organizations and community agencies; lobby for free speech protection; help a non-profit organization or community agency design a public awareness campaign; help a non-profit organization create a publication.

Eastern Middle School
Silver Spring, MD (301) 650-6660
Contact: John Rynn
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/easternms/
Offers programs in communications and media arts to a diverse student body. Students needed to help mentor students in the areas of organization and study skills.

Kidsnet
Washington, DC (202) 291-1400
Contact: kidsnet@aol.com
http://www.kidsnet.org
Serves as a clearinghouse for children’s television and radio. Offers publications in both print and electronic formats such as study and programming guides, news reports and magazine columns.

Montgomery Community Television
Rockville, MD (301) 424-1730
Contact: K.B. Fiske
http://www.montgomerycommunitytv.com/
Serves as an independent non-profit organization providing Montgomery County with professional quality television production, programming, and training.

National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association
Washington, DC (202) 588-9888
Contact: Pamela Strother, info@nlgja.org
http://www.nlgja.org
Strives for fair and accurate coverage of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in the media. Works for equal treatment for gays and lesbians who work in predominantly heterosexual newsrooms.

National Youth Rights Association
Washington, DC (301) 738-6769
Contact: Brad White, nyrausa@aol.com
http://www.youthrights.org
The NYRA is dedicated to defending the civil and human rights of young people in the U.S. Volunteer webmasters and writers for the NYRA Freedom are needed.

Shaw EcoVillage Project
Washington, DC (202) 265-2019
Contact: Noel Petrie, sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net
http://www.shawecovillage.com
Strong organizational skills needed to provide assistance with donor management including data entry, creation of newsletter updates, letters to

Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC (202) 357-2987
Contact: bvpvolunteer@si.edu
http://www.si.edu
Be a part of the Smithsonian! Lead hands-on, participatory tours on weekday mornings for school groups from preschool through sixth grade.

Washington Jewish Week
Rockville, MD (301) 230-2222
Contact: Craig Burke, wjweek@aol.com
http://www.washingtonjewishweek.com
Operates a Jewish newspaper for the DC metro area. Opportunities available in office setting year-round.
donors, donor tracking and annual mailings.

Office of Community Service-Learning
1120 Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park 20742
301-314-CARE—http://www.csl.umd.edu—terpservice@umd.edu

Please Note: Inclusion in the Office of Community Service-Learning (OCSL) resources is not to be interpreted as an endorsement for any agency or organization listed here. As with any off-campus opportunity, the University is not responsible for any personal injury or loss that might result from your participation. Participants are strongly encouraged to read and implement the Good Questions to Ask and PARE handouts available through OCSL. Lastly, be aware of any special requirements or skills necessary to perform the service requested (i.e. construction, carpentry, landscaping) and do not feel compelled to execute tasks which are beyond your capabilities.

9/04