Community Partnerships are reciprocal relationships between Villanova and an Agency or school that serves the poor or cares for our environment. When Villanova seeks to form a partnership with an agency or school in underserved communities we ask the question, “What do you need that Villanova University can to provide?

Organizations that serve the poor have so many needs that this question is often difficult to answer. We begin to list the needs and it is the responsibility of the Office of Service Learning to seek out faculty who may be wiling to teach a course through which our students can learn as well as meet the needs of our community partner and reflect on the broader issue which affects the constituency of that partner.

What an Organization Must Do

The organization must:

• Address the needs of the poor or underserved community
• Have an infrastructure that can support volunteers
• Ability to have volunteers who work on Higher Education Schedule without consequence to their services.
• Have a staff or faculty liaison who can maintain communication with the Office of Service Learning.
• Have a perceived need which Villanova student can address through research or praxis.
• Have a safe environment in which the students can work