Benedict Center
Address: 135 W. Wells
Transportation: Take any eastbound bus (#10, #30) on Wisconsin to Plankinton. Walk one block northwest on Plankinton until Wells. The Benedict Center is located on the corner of Wells and Plankinton, find address.
Approximate Time By Car: 3 minutes
Approximate Time By Bus: 9 minutes
Orientation: Monday, January 28th from 2:00-3:00pm
Days/Hours of Operation: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Times are flexible. The site contact will schedule time slots individually.
Description of Agency/Activities: Benedict Center offers basic education classes, high school diploma classes, and a variety of support components (Parenting, Job Readiness and Placement, etc.). All of the women involved in the program have at one time in their lives been arrested, usually on a misdemeanor, non-violent charge.
Student Role in Agency: Service Learners tutor women in basic skills or Adult Alternative Learning. Volunteers assist in rendering services for basic skills classes in reading, math, and high school diploma classes. Structure of the classes usually involves individuals working through their own materials. Each woman has her own workbook which introduces each skill necessary. The role of the Service Learners, then, is to be available to explain anything further that may remain unclear from the workbook instruction. For math tutoring, Service Learners should be comfortable with basic math and basic algebra, and have the ability to offer encouragement and guidance.
Unique Features or Challenges of the Agency: Attendance often fluctuates in the classes and new students enter every three weeks, so tutors need to be patient if "their" students are not in class. Efforts will be made to ensure that tutors work with a variety of students.
Commitment:
- Orientation session conducted at agency.
- One to two hours per week for duration of semester.
- Orientation: The orientation will take place at the Benedict Center, usually 2-3 weeks into the semester. Students are encouraged to attend the same orientation, which will cover the policies and procedures of the agency. The orientation will also involve a tour of the site and guidelines for which students should follow when tutoring, and will allow students to ask questions or raise any concerns.
**Alternate Option:**
Homeroom: 8:00am – 9:00am, Monday – Thursday (student would be required to attend two Homerooms each week)
Student Role: Students will be responsible for facilitating a check-in. The check-in usually entails writing some sort of inspirational quotation on the board and asking people how they are feeling and responding to the quote on the board. The student will be responsible for guiding the conversation, asking follow up questions if a person shares something serious or personal to see whether the client needs to speak with her counselor immediately. The Benedict Center has binders with life skills topics (budgeting, meal preparation, job preparation, hygiene, etc.) that could be introduced during the group depending on how long it takes for the women to check in. Prior to starting the check in, the facilitator may oversee some cleaning up in the kitchen as the women have breakfast immediately before starting the homeroom and it’s possible that breakfast may go slightly longer than we have budgeted for in the schedule.
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