What is the database?

We should have a contest to name this database, as it has been the Community Partner Service Database, the Civic Activity Database, the Community Partner Search, the Community Partner Civic Activity Service Database Search…okay, well, not that last one!  All of those names do a great, if not inspiring, job of describing what this is: a collection of community partner non-profit organizations within about a 60-mile radius of Grinnell, with all kinds of relevant information regarding their volunteer opportunities and needs, searchable in multiple different ways.  Simply put, it’s a Network for Good, with so much hope wrapped inside each of the entries.

But a database is only a tool, a vessel of information, or as defined by Oxford, “a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways.”  Yep, that sums it up – and while this database holds all that plus a great deal of hope inside it, it is not a living, breathing, active being.  That’s where you, dear reader, become the beloved enactor of the hope contained within.

Where do I find this wondrous database?

Certainly click here: Community Partner Database (grinnell.edu).  If you are browsing the informative new Center for Careers, Life, & Service website, take a meander to the Civic Activity at Grinnell tab and settle over the “Community Partner Search.” You choose which route you’d like to follow: you can log in as a student, as a community member, or as faculty/staff.  Select whichever is appropriate for you, or go ahead and choose one that you’re not, that’s fine too!  The search parameters are set up to be most conducive depending on the potential usage by these 3 different roles, but fundamentally all the information is the same, whichever way you enter the database. 

What happens next?

Once you’ve selected whatever role you would most like to play, the database will open up, and the listings will begin appearing, in alphabetical order.  You can read about each of the 129 non-profit organizations alphabetically…or if your time is more limited, click some of the search parameters to filter down the pool that will appear (yes, still alphabetically, just not as many!) You can search by keywords that connect with your passions (let’s say we choose Crisis Support and Gardening).  Try it out!  You’ll find that opens to 1 listing, Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, and upon opening the listing, you’ll see that they have offices in Des Moines and Iowa City, that volunteerism with them includes training on Asian & Pacific Islander communities and domestic and sexual violence, and that virtual service work is possible.  Excuse me while I go fill out their volunteer application, or in this case, as the database tells me, I’ll be sending an email to their volunteer coordinator. 

You can also search by distance from Grinnell, by in-person, hybrid, or virtual service, by the time of year service is needed, whether the organization can handle your entire group showing up to volunteer at once (yay!), and by CLS career community. That number I mentioned earlier, of 129 listings…that will continue to grow. Each of the organizations included in the database have corresponded with us and are excited to collaborate with the Grinnell community, so this number will increase as personal contact is made, but not before.

What you do with this information is in your capable hands – if you have the time in your schedule, the desire, and the means, go ahead and reach out to the organization that resonates with you. And if all you have is 2 of the legs of that stool, as long as one of the components is the desire, the passion for the mission of that non-profit, I strongly suggest that you reach out to them to let them know of your interest and your support.

Thank you for your time in learning about the CLS Network for Good of community partners, civic activity, service, or whatever name eventually rises to the surface.  And my most deep, heart-felt thank you for learning about how you uniquely can bring your skills, and grow your skills, by participating in the world around you.