Community SOL Projects
Learning by Doing
During their second year in INVST, in a collaboration with the community, students create their own projects. They develop leadership skills by researching, designing, implementing and evaluating community-based initiatives. The Community SOL (Serving - Organizing - Leading) Projects, as we call them, serve as models for the students' lifetime endeavors.
In small groups, the INVST students take the following steps during their second year together in skills classes. These steps prepare them for their year-long community-based projects for social and environmental justice:
- INVST students identify justice issues that impact their lives
- They conduct interviews to learn more from other stakeholders in the broader 麻豆影院/Denver area
- They code their interviews and surface claims about the issue
- They develop project proposals based on their claims
- They design action plans and a timeline, then present their plans to the INVST community and receive feedback
- INVST students then design evaluation tools
- They implement their projects
- They evaluate the results
- Finally, they present their accomplishments to the INVST community
After completing a Community SOL Project, an INVST student has the tools, skills, and experience they need to work successfully with a small group toward a common goal. Many go on to become the leaders of local institutions, work successfully for non-profits or activist organizations or work on political campaigns, run for office, or perhaps start their own community-based initiative or small business.
There are many impressive examples of past work that INVST students have done as SOL Projects. The first-ever Forward Food Summit was a SOL Project, which is an event that brings together food justice activists annually. INVST students have also created a project that worked with former District Attorney Stan Garnett to create a wage theft reporting and prevention program, protecting immigrant workers from discrimination and exploitation. Community SOL Projects by INVST students have helped start Swap, a free English tutoring program for immigrant workers on campus; and fought for passage of Colorado ASSET, state legislation that helps undocumented youth afford college.