School District: Quaker Valley School District
Center Director: Ron Beers
Email: beersr@qvsd.org
Phone: 412.749.5557 x2285
Address: 625 Beaver Road, Leetsdale, PA 15056
Grant: Quaker Valley Student Service Learning Center

Description/Accomplishments:
The Student Service Learning Center began five years ago at Quaker Valley High School. The Center is composed of seniors who have completed prerequisite courses in service-learning offered in grades 9 through 12. The center is composed of four to nine teams each year. The teams are Education and Literacy, Environment, Human Services, Public Relations, Technology, International Issues, Arts, Home and Health Services. Each Team researches the authentic needs of the community in their particular area and devises projects to meet these needs. The service-learning methodology is employed in each project with measurable outcomes listed on the project sheets.

A list of accomplishments to date:
The Center has addressed the needs of local food banks by holding an Empty Bowls Dinner each of the past five years that involves all the elementary schools, several private schools, local churches and the communities' non-profit agencies. Other projects address school safety, recycling, teen suicide prevention, children's medical coverage, senior rent/property rebate, the digital divide, hip and knee fracture prevention, landmine eradication, aids/HIV prevention, Read Across America, and tutoring elementary students. The goal of the center is to involve the entire student population in center led projects, assimilate projects into our curriculum and to raise the level of awareness of all our communities’, countries’ and world's needs.