Service Learning Projects

This paper focuses on enhancing the well-being of employees within a non-profit organization, B1C, dedicated to serving the immigrant community. Through the lens of positive psychology, our objective was to provide insights and interventions to support the well-being of B1C employees in fulfilling the organization's mission. Despite the positive impact of nonprofits, challenges such as burnout and compassion fatigue are prevalent among its workforce due to the insatiable demand for services, resource deficits, and the passionate nature of the individuals drawn to this work. The exemplary B1C organization demonstrates flexibility, compassion, and commitment yet struggles with compassion fatigue, hopelessness, and issues with self-efficacy. To address these challenges, our interventions encompassed three critical efforts. First, we designed and delivered a 60-minute workshop introducing Character Strengths to B1C employees. Second, we implemented a Character Strengths Spotting Wall to reinforce the concepts introduced in the workshop. Lastly, we initiated a six-month-long staff interaction program called the Hope Buddy Circuit to foster peer support and resilience-building. By employing a strengths-based approach and peer support model, our interventions aim to combat compassion fatigue and promote the overall well-being of B1C employees, ultimately enhancing their ability to serve the immigrant community effectively.

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This project examines the integration of positive psychology into leadership development at CHRIS 180, a non-profit organization providing trauma-informed care. CHRIS 180 has undergone significant growth, necessitating a leadership approach that aligns with its core values of creativity, honor, respect, integrity, and safety. The intervention employs the PERMA model, which emphasizes positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment, to enhance the leadership capabilities within the organization. Results from the implementation suggest that positive psychology can significantly improve leadership development, leading to a more resilient and effective organizational culture. The implications of this work are profound, indicating that positive psychology interventions can be instrumental for organizations in managing rapid growth and mitigating the risks of burnout and compassion fatigue. This approach could serve as a model for similar organizations aiming to foster a supportive and thriving environment amidst challenging circumstances.

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The Collective Efficacy in Action: Community Growing Community (CG) at Generation Pledge (GP) program is a 12-month plan designed to support cohort members of the CGC to advance the mission of GP. GP is a not-for-profit services organization with a unique mission: to act as a trusted advisor to inheritors of material wealth who are inspired to make considerable donations of their resources toward creating a better world – in other words, GP helps inheritors navigate the complexities of making an impact. The CGC comprises a subset of GP members who are interested in further advancing the vision and mission of GP through the CGC. The 12-month program utilizes the positive psychology construct of collective efficacy as its theory of change model and the program comprises two sections that build upon each other: i) the activation planning phase and ii) the activation phase. The activation planning phase guides members through a process to prepare an individualized, written activation plan that members can leverage and execute against during the activation phase. The program comprises 12 monthly meetings, each with a specific agenda including positive interventions tailored for improving collective efficacy, a workbook to guide members in documenting the activation plan, along with related support materials to guide GP in its curation of the meetings.

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Strengths-Based Leading is a well-being initiative designed to enhance the well-being and engagement of staff at the Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), part of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitation Services (DARS). This intervention addresses professional challenges such as burnout and compassion fatigue by fostering work engagement through the implementation of VIA character strengths. Our approach includes administering the VIA Survey, conducting character strengths workshops, and encouraging strengths-spotting. We also outline strategies for sustaining this initiative long-term. By leveraging character strengths, we aim to improve job satisfaction, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and enhance both client interactions and organizational effectiveness, as measured by the Gallup Q12 Survey.

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Given the complex challenges of living with cystic fibrosis (CF) and the intense demands it places on Compass case managers (CCMs) at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) who support the CF community, this study explored the integration of positive psychology interventions to enhance CCM well-being. CFF’s Compass program provides crucial support to individuals battling CF, focusing on personalized assistance through insurance, financial, and legal challenges. Despite the invaluable support they provide, CCMs face significant emotional and logistical stresses that can impact their mental health and job satisfaction. This study recommends implementing positive psychology practices to develop and spot character strengths, foster high-quality connections, and support resilience to improve CCMs’ well-being and mitigate the risk of burnout. The implications of these recommendations suggest that such positive psychology interventions are essential for maintaining the health of the Compass workforce by improving CCM subjective well-being through enhanced resilience and satisfaction. This approach underscores the necessity of comprehensive strategies in highly stressful situations where emotional demands and lack of viable positive outcomes are extreme.

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The Wild Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the Adirondacks, is dedicated to fostering a sustainable relationship between humans and nature. Although its Youth Climate Program and signature annual Youth Climate Summit have successfully empowered young climate leaders, the absence of an active alumni network has hindered broader community engagement and long-term impact. This paper proposes organizing an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Summit as a strategic, strength-based approach to establish the Youth Climate Summit Alumni Network. By employing the AI 4D cycle—Discovery, Dream, Design, Destiny—the Summit aims to gather all relevant stakeholders in a comprehensive, collaborative process to establish a robust network. The AI Summit Handbook, detailed as an appendix in this paper, provides guidance to facilitate the Summit effectively. It includes foundational theory, structured activities, and practical templates for each phase of the 4-D cycle. This comprehensive resource is a scalable tool for broader adaptation, which serves as a model for other organizations to replicate the process, thereby fostering sustainable impact across communities. The overall anticipated outcome of the AI Summit is the creation of a thriving alumni network that amplifies The Wild Center’s influence on climate advocacy. Significantly, this initiative demonstrates how strategic applications of positive psychology, such as Appreciative Inquiry, can serve as a replicable model for other organizations, enhancing their ability to mobilize and empower themselves to effectively establish their own alumni networks.

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Atlas Service Corps, Inc. (Atlas Corps) is dedicated to driving global social change by providing international nonprofit leaders, known as Fellows with exceptional educational and occupational opportunities. However, Atlas Fellows face challenges during their cultural transition and adjustment process, impacting their leadership development and sense of connection to the Atlas Corps community. Drawing upon the theory and research in positive psychology theory, this project proposes an evidence-based approach to enhance fellows' leadership competencies and foster a stronger sense of belonging within the organization. The program, delivered through psychoeducational videos and facilitated discussions, focuses on cultivating self-efficacy, resilience, and interpersonal connection. It targets key areas of growth through positive psychology interventions such as cognitive reframing techniques, character strengths exploration, and a visualization exercise to harness optimism and hope about the future to encourage optimal goal pursuit. By integrating these interventions within the Atlas Corps framework, this project aims to support fellows' personal and professional growth while strengthening the bonds within the community. As Atlas Corps continues to adapt to the needs of its diverse community, the application of evidence-based interventions and the cultivation of a culture of well-being and connection will be essential to its ongoing success in developing global leaders.

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The Midland Wellbeing Coalition strives to create inclusive communities where everyone can thrive. Using positive psychology principles, the Coalition aims to foster community wellbeing by identifying and cultivating strengths within individuals and organizations. Stemming from evidence-based research, students in the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania developed twenty-two thriving assets tailored for adults. This paper explores the integration of positive psychology practices in community initiatives, focusing on the development of the aforementioned assets. Additionally, the implications of this work are discussed, focusing on how adults in the Midland community will flourish and alluding to the potential of applying this framework in other communities.

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What’s Your Grief (WYG) operates as a nonprofit organization under the fiscal sponsorship of the 501(c)(3) Fusion Partnerships and provides a hub of community support and learning resources to normalize and support the grieving process. WYG focuses on providing external resources to grievers, those supporting grievers, and grief professionals. This positive psychology intervention aims to bring character strengths to the grief space with a strengths-based grieving guidebook for grief professionals. The guidebook is meant to be used as one of the many tools to support grievers through various strengths-based interventions, practitioner tips, and measurement tools. This intervention is a step towards bridging the gap between positive psychology and the grief space which can be used in the future to help mental health professionals tap into the strengths of each griever and design optimal interventions. Since more research is needed on designing strengths-based interventions with grieving populations, this guidebook should not be used as a prescriptive tool to diagnose or replace other mental health resources.

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This project explores the application of positive psychology within a community college environment, specifically focusing on Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC). The goal of the project is to enhance the wellbeing of the mid-level managers. The leaders at VPCC recognize that the staff are the highest leverage point in beginning to build their vision of “A Culture of Care and Wellbeing” at the college. Positive psychology research and application are employed to address the challenges faced by student-facing staff members, including burnout. Tailored positive interventions delivered through the pathways of individuals, teams, and the organization are proposed. Intended outcomes include flourishing, mattering, mutual respect, and shared governance. A multi-level wellbeing toolkit is presented in the application materials section. The deliverables in this project are based upon a review of the literature which suggests that utilizing combined individual-organizational approaches are more likely to be effective for burnout prevention and thriving at work. The Wellbeing Champion framework is integrated to enhance sustainability of the proposed positive interventions.

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The Pawsitive Companions: Animal/Human Bond Wellbeing Program is a model for partnership designed for the Human Society of Midland County, Michigan (HSoMC) as a way to realize their vision of bringing the benefits of animal-human bonding to community groups seeking wellbeing opportunities for their constituents. The first such partnership, used as the model for this project, is between the HSoMC and the Great Lakes Bay Veterans Coalition (GLBVC), which provides support and connectivity to local veterans and families. One core component of the Pawsitive Companions initiative is a presentation tool, which includes a fully scripted overview of positive psychology and highlights the research that supports the benefits of animal-human bonding. This will serve as a primary communication tool for partnership program development, staff/Board/volunteer orientation, and as input to grant proposals. Secondly, this project proposes a steering committee comprised of volunteers from the GLBVC to recruit and coordinate the involvement of its members in HSoMC shelter programming. Thirdly, a series of animal volunteer activities come with “Special Missions” – positive psychology interventions – which are included to enhance the wellbeing effects of spending time with the animals. To measure program impact, it is recommended that the HSoMC uses the same wellbeing survey used by the Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition for community consistency. These components provide a structure and framework for extending the program to other community partners.

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