Brewer Center for Civic Learning & Community Engagement

• Community Partner Planning
  • At the heart of the Brewer Center’s work is the commitment to building mutually beneficial relationships between our community partners—primarily nonprofit organizations—and our students. We begin by assessing the needs of each partner, then thoughtfully pair students whose educational, career, and personal goals align with those needs. This intentional matching process ensures that both the partner and the student gain value from the collaboration.
• Support Received During the Semester
  • Whether you're a student looking to grow through service or a community organization seeking support, the Brewer Center is here to connect and inspire. In addition to building partnerships for service learning, volunteer and internship placements, pairing the students with their site, and orienting students with GivePulse, the Brewer Center works to support the student throughout the semester. From ideas students have that they want to assist their site with,to GivePulse issues, the Brewer Center is here to provide support for the student’s experience.
  • For questions or interest in community engagement efforts with the Brewer Center or MWCC, please contact Assistant Coordinator of Civic Engagement, Katt Bosworth | kbosworth1@mwcc.mass.edu

• What is the difference between service learning and volunteerism?
  • Both service learning and volunteerism benefit the community.
  • Service learning is connected to a particular course and helps students learn the course material. For students to earn service learning hours:
    • Instructors must provide service learning as part of the curriculum (either as a requirement or an option)
    • Students must document and reflect upon the connection between their service and the course content and how the experience impacted them personally, and the community they served.
    • Learn more about logging hours on GivePulse here. (link to “For Students” page)
  • Service Learning is an approach that integrates meaningful community engagement with instruction and reflection, to enrich the learning experience and reinforce student learning outcomes for your courses. This experience takes what students are learning in the classroom into the community to address a specific community need.
  • The Brewer Center provides support to faculty that offer or require service learning opportunities in their courses. To learn more, please visit our “For Faculty” page (hyperlinked) or contact David Thibault-Muñoz, Director at dthibaultmunoz@mwcc.mass.edu

• Interested in giving back? Having a positive impact on your community?
• The Brewer Center communicates with our non-profit community partners to assess their needs and to ask how we can best assist them through volunteerism (and service learning).
• Through these conversations, we work together to pair students who are interested in volunteering with our community partners.
  • What are your interests, passions, or hobbies? Example: “I love photography!”
  • What is an issue you are interested in and passionate about? Example: “I am interested in working with domestic violence victims and assisting them with support and giving them their power back.”
  • How can you combine your passion and interest? Example: “I could create a photography series for people to get their portrait taken and provide a space for them to share their story. That photo and story can then be given to them.”
• The Brewer Center also organizes as least one large volunteer opportunity in the fall and spring semesters. Check GivePulse to see any upcoming opportunities or follow our socials for updates.
• GivePulse
  • GivePulse is our online software that assists students in tracking their service hours. Whether it is a service learning project, an internship experience, volunteering, or a student club tracking their service hours, GivePulse is the place to go! Students should log all service hours in GivePulse to receive recognition. Learn more about logging hours on GivePulse here (Here being a link to the “FOR STUDENTS PAGE”) . You can also email community@mwcc.mass.edu for information.
• Looking for volunteers?
  • If you are a non-profit that is looking for volunteers or support to help build the capacity of your organization, please feel free to read more on our Community Partner Page (hyper link) about how to partner with us or contact Katt Bosworth, Assistant Coordinator of Civic Engagement at kbosworth1@mwcc.mass.edu.

Civic learning at MWCC is the practice of connecting what you learn in class to real issues, real people, and real communities. It’s more than attending an event- it’s an ongoing process of exploring problems, understanding systems, practicing dialogue, and taking informed action.

• Why does it matter?
  • Because college is where you build the knowledge, skills, and habits to lead positive change. Through service learning, community-based projects, and dialogues across differences, you’ll strengthen critical thinking, empathy, collaboration, and problem-solving- skills that transfer to any career and help you contribute meaningfully to the world around you.
• This work is central to the Brewer Center’s mission: to cultivate civic engagement, social responsibility, and meaningful connections between individuals and their communities. We partner with faculty to weave service learning into the curriculum, link academic inquiry with community impact, and create experiences that prepare learners to embrace diversity, address systemic challenges with creativity and solidarity, and stay locally rooted yet globally connected. In short: we help you turn learning into action—and action into lasting impact.
• Ready to get involved?
  • Explore our annual events, deep-dive programs, and the Civic Action Scorecard to find your on-ramp.
• Annual Events
  • Constitution Day • Non-Profit Fair • Day(s) of Service (Fall & Spring) • North Central MA Civic Forum • Campus-wide Dialogues
  • These events happen every year and are core to MWCC’s civic culture.
  • Check InvolveMount for upcoming dates
• Transformational Programs & Series
  • Deep-dive learning experiences such as the Community Organizing Workshop Series, Alternative Spring Break, the Student Leaders in Civic Engagement (SLiCE) employment program (we hire for yearly), and the Civic Action Scorecard (available year-round on GivePulse).
• Attend an event, join a workshop series, volunteer through GivePulse, or apply to be a SLiCE student leader. There are multiple on-ramps to civic engagement- choose what fits your interests.
• For questions about Civic Learning initiatives at MWCC, please contact Rachel Vargeletis-Peguero, Assistant Director at rvargeletis@mwcc.mass.edu