NASST: North American Summer Service Team
Mission:
To cultivate an environment of service, learning, and mutual growth through immersing students into communities throughout North America, and to create relationships through service that drive action for social justice and fuel a student-led movement towards a truly equal society.
Program Description:
NASST is sponsored by SERVE, a student-run organization, founded in 1988. SERVE's mission is to foster, through community service and social action, a student movement at the University of Michigan that thoughtfully addresses the challenges we face as a society. NASST is directed by a 6-member leadership team responsible for site development, education & training, finance & fundraising, and public relations. NASST's leadership team is responsible for contacting and selecting sites, creating a budget, planning fundraising activities, and recruitment of participants. This year we anticipate sending approximately 60 student volunteers to 5 different sites across the continent that deal with issues related to:
- AIDS/HIV Prevention, Education, and Treatment
- Domestic Violence
- Immigration: Border & Refugee Issues
- Urban Poverty & (Re-) Development
- Rural Poverty & (Re-) Development
- Youth & Education
- Indigenous Peoples
Objectives:
The University of Michigan's North American Summer Service Team (NASST) program is a semester-long commitment by student volunteers to learning about and participating with community organizations working for social justice. Following a semester of relevant education and training, students will be prepared for one to two week-long community-immersion service trips. In addition to providing necessary services to the site, each trip will offer students the opportunity to explore the culture and history of the communities they serve.
NASST challenges students to:
- Learn about and critically examine the larger political, social and economic causes perpetuating complex issues, such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental destruction, and the marginalization of social groups;
- Engage in thoughtful, meaningful action toward the resolution of such social problems;
- Develop appreciation and understanding for specific community needs by recognizing its strengths and weaknesses?
- Gain valuable experience in community-based problem solving through reciprocal partnership a with community members and agencies;
- Build and sustain friendships and alliances with members of the community, site leaders and fellow participants;
- Continue a commitment to community service and social change.
In order to meet these objectives, NASST requires students to engage in intellectual and practical education and training before, during, and after the trip.
