Give Students the Tools to Develop a Top Notch Service Resume

By Rita Mortenson, Educational Technology Coach, Verona Area High School

Schools, student groups and individuals who make service a priority play an important role in their community.  Do you know all the great things your students are doing for your community?  Are you looking for ways to celebrate the success of your students’ service projects in an authentic, easy and meaningful way? If you answered “yes,” then I encourage you to bring this free resource to your school community.

Last year at Verona Area High School, 112 students in our Silver Cord Program participated in 1,346 activities and collectively contributed over 6,845 community service hours.  The community impact in dollars was $190,763.00.  The top global goals that were aligned with these volunteer service projects were (1) quality of education, (2) health and wellbeing, and (3) zero hunger.  How did I know all of this?  We are proud to be using a free resource called InnerView that empowers students to find, record and celebrate the good they are doing in their community.

It is not too often that I get this excited about a free resource that benefits so many. InnerView is the leading youth platform to help students, groups, and schools highlight community service impact, passion for causes, and connect local effort to the UN Global Goals.  InnerView allows students a platform to locate and find volunteer opportunities, and then document these as evidence for college and scholarship applications and future employers.  Students record their volunteer efforts based on the 17 UN Global Goals (https://www.globalgoals.org/.)

InnerView is more than a resource. The mission of InnerView is not simply to provide an easy way for students to record their community service hours.  It is to develop individuals that would like to incorporate service as a part of their everyday life.  By aligning with the Global Goals, students quickly realize they are contributing to something bigger than a project that requires 2 hours here and there. They see their social impact build and build and build.

Each individual activates an InnerView account and contributes their service hours individually. A group's recognition is determined by the collective impact of its members. The benefits to both the student and the club/group using the site include:

1. The site is free to the student and school.

2. Students are able to record their service and view their impact in real time.

3. Students can find volunteer opportunities within their community.

4. Students can personally earn awards towards national service awards.

5. Students own their accounts and their data so that their investment in a service resume stays with them no matter where they go to school and what they choose to do after high school. 

6. Club advisors/programs have an organized, equitable way to manage and verify community service hours.

7. The school and groups have an easy way to see all of their students and the service impact of each one and collectively.

8. Clubs or groups can post volunteer opportunities that will be curated on the platform.

9. Detailed reports and social media posts are sent to the hosting school/club that celebrates the work done. 

Below are some example graphics that highlight your students' community impact across the entire school year.