The primary goal of the launch grant was to work on the US
Community Service website. I discovered rather quickly that I am not a web
designer and had a lot of trouble figuring out what I wanted the website to
look like and what it should accomplish. As I explored ways to improve it, an
idea struck me that I would like a better way to show students where they could
do local service. Students often ask me for ideas and the conversation leads to
finding places that are near their homes or near the school. I thought a map
would be really helpful. Then I thought that a map that had pins at different
service sites would be even better. After some intense research and exploring
multiple possibilities, Google Maps turned out to be the best option. I played
around with the program, did multiple trial runs, and eventually figured out
how to make it work. Now, students can click on a pin and the site name and
type of work will pop up. Students can select whether they wish to work with
youth, at a food pantry, at a shelter, etc. This has proven helpful in recent
conversations as student see that they can explore their interests on their own
time.
