The core principles of effective service learning have the potential to enrich family service through more intentional family engagement in planning and reflecting on their service experience. In addition, it provides a structured focus on learning and development goals that increase the likelihood that the service engagement will have a lasting impact on both those providing service and those being served.

Service learning offers powerful life-long benefits. Participants learn responsibility, leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving skills;. They experience greater self-respect, character development and self-discipline, increased motivation and engagement in studies, more tolerance, a broader perspective and improved academic performance.

There are several methods for incorporating service learning into your volunteer experiences. We recommend the following three resources either in combination or as stand-alone techniques.