Recently, twelve students from the Kansas State University nonprofit leadership certificate program shadowed professionals in nine different nonprofit organizations in Manhattan, Kansas. Students worked with executive directors, volunteer managers, program coordinators, development specialists, and other diverse positions within the organizations. Continue reading “Inaugural Nonprofit Shadow Day benefits community and students”
Category: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement
Learn more about serving abroad at IST Open House
Students who want to explore service abroad opportunities are invited to the International Service Teams Open House on Monday, Nov. 8, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in Leadership Studies room 253.
Students interested are strongly encouraged to attend this meeting to hear first-hand experiences from K-Staters and to ask questions about the program. Applications for summer 2022 travel are due Nov. 17, 2021.
International Service Teams (IST) is a program in the Staley School of Leadership Studies that has sent students around the world to engage in ethical service-learning work for 30 years. IST partners with community organizations in South Africa, The Gambia, Kenya and the Dominican Republic*.
Participants will take an eight week, three credit hour course in the spring semester (LEAD 489: Seminar in international service learning) to prepare for their summer abroad trip. Students will explore topics of privilege, global inequality, ethical service, structural violence culture and more.
On site, student teams will focus on unique projects which will include topics such as education, environmental sustainability, youth development, community health and more.
Applications to travel in summer 2022 are due Nov. 17, 2021. Learn more and apply online. For questions, email intlteam@ksu.edu.
*As always, student and partner safety are our highest priority. With this is mind, the final site and travel destinations for the 2022 team will be announced at a later date.
Applications now open for International Service Teams
International Service Teams (IST) is a program in the Staley School of Leadership Studies that has sent students around the world to engage in ethical service-learning work for 30 years. IST partners with community organizations in South Africa, The Gambia, Kenya and the Dominican Republic.
Participants will take an eight week, three credit hour course in the spring semester to prepare for their service abroad and explore topics of privilege, global inequality, ethical service, structural violence culture and more. Teams will focus on projects unique to their site which will include topics such as education, environmental sustainability, youth development, community health, and more.
As always, student and partner safety are our highest priority. With this is mind, the final site and travel destinations for 2022 team will be announced at a later date.
Join us Oct. 7, from 2:30 – 5 p.m. in Leadership Studies room 253 to learn more about International Service Teams, grab a snack and begin the application process!
Applications are due Nov. 17. Contact intlteam@ksu.edu for more information.
Nonprofit Leadership Open House
Students in the Staley School of 
Leadership Studies Nonprofit Leadership Certificate and all students on campus who are interested in learning more about this program are invited to an Open House from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22.
Join students and faculty outside the Leadership Studies building to mingle and find out how the nonprofit leadership certificate can help you reach your goals.
Contact Chance Lee at chance@ksu.edu for questions.
Fall 2021 Mobile Food Distributions
HandsOn Kansas State, in conjunction with Harvesters Community Food Network of Topeka, will host three mobile food distributions during the Fall 2021 semester. The events start at 4 p.m. in parking lot C-1 of the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex.
- Friday, Sept. 10
- Friday, Oct. 8
- Friday, Nov. 12
The mobile food distribution is open to all members of the K-State and Manhattan community with fresh fruits and vegetables offered at no cost, while supplies last.
Individuals who do not have a vehicle may walk over to pick up food. However, transportation back to their home will not be provided.
Due to construction in the area, we have worked with K-State Police Department to determine this recommended driving route: Take Marlatt Avenue west to College Avenue, then drive south on College Avenue to Kimball Avenue, and then east on Kimball Avenue to turn into the C-1 lot entrance.
Below are friendly reminders to help the event run smoothly and efficiently
- The C-1 lot will open at 3:30 p.m.
- Vehicles enter the pickup line driving eastbound on Kimball Avenue to parking lot C-1 and exit through the C-2 lot on to Denison.
- Volunteers will be posted to ensure vehicles enter and exit through the correct locations. A map is available below.
- Participants should plan to help open vehicle doors as needed.
HandsOn Kansas State is a program housed within the Staley School of Leadership Studies that promotes civic learning and leadership through meaningful volunteer and service opportunities between campus and community. HandsOn strives to develop socially-responsible citizens, knowledgeably equipped for active participation. For more information or questions about the mobile food distribution contact HandsOn Kansas State at handson@k-state.edu.
Service and Leadership Block Party: Engagement, wellbeing and community
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26
On the large sidewalk outside of the Leadership Studies Building, you’ll find a block party where you can learn about the Staley School of Leadership Studies programs. Free food (shaved ice, chips and salsa, fruit, ice pops and more), prize giveaways, candy handouts and more!
Why attend?
- Get to know the Staley School
- Build community
- Service-learning opportunities
- Practice classroom knowledge
- Create change within communities
We will also be hosting Pups and Pops – Manhattan’s T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter is bringing dogs available for adoption and handing out ice pops.
Featured programs include:
- Alternative Breaks
- International Service Teams
- Staley School Ambassadors
- Staley School Graduate Programs
- LEAD 212 Class Leaders
- Food Security Scholars
- HandsOn Kansas State
- K-State Strengths
- Nonprofit Leadership
- Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows
- T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter (PUPS!)
Building an inclusive Africa: 2021 Mandela Washington Fellows championing advocacy for the rights and inclusion of people living with disabilities
One billion people across the world live with a disability. That’s fifteen percent of the world’s population. Of the one billion people living with disabilities worldwide, 300 million live in Africa. That’s nearly forty percent of Africa’s population. Individuals living with disabilities often suffer stigmatization and discrimination from other members of society. Many also live in extreme poverty, without access to education and health care. In this article, we will highlight the work of Diana Sididi, Samba Jaiteh, and Yesutor Amedofu, three 2021 Mandela Washington Fellows, who are engaging their communities to make progress on the many challenges facing people with disabilities in West Africa.
We are inspired by Samba Jaiteh, who educates people with visual impairments in The Gambia. We were also inspired by Diana Sididi, who lives with a disability, and created a media platform to advocate for the inclusion of people living with disabilities in Mali. Lastly, we interviewed Yesutor Amedofu to learn more about her work to support and integrate people living with Autism and Related Disorders (ARD) in Ghana.
Samba Jaiteh (The Gambia) and Diana Sididi (Mali)
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 aims at reducing inequalities within and among countries by fostering the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, including people living with disabilities. One way to progress on this goal is by providing access to quality education for persons living with disabilities and advocating for their rights. This is what Samba Jaiteh and Diana Sididi are doing in The Gambia and Mali, respectively.
Born with cataracts, a visual impairment that makes it difficult to read, drive or see the expressions in people’s faces, Jaiteh was doing fine but gradually lost his vision and required surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery was unsuccessful, leaving him visually impaired. Jaiteh’s current work was influenced by his lived experience navigating his country’s educational system as a person living with a visual impairment. His struggle motivated him to advocate for persons living with disabilities, specifically those with visual impairments. Continue reading “Building an inclusive Africa: 2021 Mandela Washington Fellows championing advocacy for the rights and inclusion of people living with disabilities”
K-State Mandela Washington Fellow alumnae earns global recognition
Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow at Kansas State University, recently received the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work implementing Malawi’s ban on thin plastics. Her journey began in Malawi when a program for farmers that provided goats to them began to see rising deaths caused by goats eating plastic bags leftover from roadside snacks.
Majiga-Kamoto, originally from Malawi, came to K-State for the Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2019 with goals to lead change at home by learning from Americans and other professionals from throughout Africa. Her vision for the reduction or elimination of single-use plastics became a driving factor in her work that led her down the path to impacting change on larger scales.
“Gloria is a visionary and a changemaker. When we worked with her in 2019, she was focused on advancing policy and shifting attitudes toward the environment. It is powerful to see her impact on the region and the world as she leads change for a healthier community environment.” said Trisha Gott, Ed.D., associate director and assistant professor for the Staley School of Leadership Studies. “It’s no surprise to me and we are absolutely thrilled to see her accomplishments and the recognition for her work.”
Read the rest of the story at NPR.org. Learn more about the Mandela Washington Fellowship at K-State.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2021.