Community College of Philadelphia wants to support your civic engagement work

“Around the Corner” is a PhillyCAM show that offers local social impact leaders the opportunity to share what impact their work is having on the Philadelphia area.

Community College of Philadelphia has a new hub for student volunteering opportunities and it wants Philly’s nonprofits to get involved.

The Institute for Community Engagement and Civic Leadership has three focus areas:

• Teaching and service learning
• Community outreach and partnerships
• Scholarship and research

Coordinator Michelle Lopez especially sees its student volunteer work as having the potential for longer-term impact, given the college’s population.

“We’re a little bit different from other colleges and universities in the area,” Lopez said. “Our students are from Philadelphia, their families are here, they raise their children here — so they’re more likely to stay here. The impact that they can have on the city is large, and it’s long-term.”

Existing organizational partners include the School District of Philadelphia, Juvenile Law Center and Philadelphia Youth Network, and the institute is looking for more organizational partners to either house an existing program or start a new one related to civic engagement.

Learn more about the institute in Lopez’s “Around the Corner” interview.

PhillyCAM is Comcast channel 66/966 HD/967 and Verizon FIOS channel 29/30 in Philadelphia.