What is TeamWorks?

TeamWorks integrates volunteers from diverse backgrounds, and fuses volunteer service, community issue education, and teambuilding activities to produce a unique, team-based service learning program.

Teams of volunteers build strong relationships amongst themselves as they learn about community issues and how together they can address the underlying problems of pressing social issues.

Volunteers who participate in TeamWorks learn the following skills:

" An ability to articulate important community issues;
" An ability to engage diverse people and groups in dialogue about community issues;
" An ability to plan and implement strategies for community change;
" An ability to identify and mobilize available resources to address issues;
" An ability to build collaborative relationships;
" An ability to negotiate and solve problems;
" An ability to learn by taking action to address an issue.

Volunteers also expand their social networks and build relationships with other team members across cultural, geographic and ability barriers that help overcome misconceptions and prejudices. TeamWorks fosters volunteerism as a life-long habit.

What is Pathway?

Pathway at UCLA Extension is a two-year certificate program for students with developmental disabilities, providing a blend of educational, social, and vocational experiences, taught and supervised by an expertly trained staff that is sensitive to the individual needs of our students.

On campus, students attend intimate-sized classes and participate in the many social, recreational, and cultural activities of a major university. They engage with other students and enjoy learning opportunities for career exploration through coursework and employment on and near the UCLA campus.

By the program's end, most students are ready to transition to independent living and meaningful employment.

Pathway TeamWorks Project

L.A. Works in partnership with the Tarjan Center as a part of the Alliance for Inclusion Advancement’s Service Inclusion Project will produce the Pathway TeamWorks project. This 10 week program will integrate 8 – 10 L.A. Works volunteers with the 17 Pathway students for a unique service learning experience.

Pathway TeamWorks will begin with a Kickoff and will culminate in a Team led volunteer service project.

Session one, or the Kickoff, will include an orientation, disability etiquette training led by the Tarjan Center staff, and team-building activities led by the L.A. Works Project Leader.

Session two will introduce an innovative asset mapping tool, StrengthsQuest talent assessment, to the participants for use in determining the direction of future sessions.

Session three will be devoted to choosing the focus for the volunteer service project. The Team may focus on neighborhoods, specific issues or specific organizations:

" Neighborhood teams examine the history and issues of a specific neighborhood and create community action plans to affect change in the neighborhood. Drawing on the experiences of people working and living in the community, the Team would determine the critical need and create a volunteer opportunity;
" Issue-focus teams examine a specific social issue in depth, such as homelessness and hunger, by participating in service projects and issues education at several organizations who serve this particular community. For example, projects may include sorting food at the food bank, serving meals at a homeless shelter and working at the water station at the Walk for Hunger;
" Organization-focus teams engage a single community organization and examine the related social issues by volunteering on a variety of projects at the organization. For example, the Team may do an environmental project, or a project serving the elderly, or one serving people with HIV/AIDS.

Session four will provide leadership training facilitated by L.A. Works staff, giving the Team the necessary tools to develop and implement strategy, to identify and mobilize available resources, and to negotiate and solve problems.

Sessions five- nine will be spent determining the scope of the volunteer service project, obtaining available resources, developing timelines and work plans, acquiring materials and supplies if needed, recruiting additional volunteers if required by scope of project, and participating in additional trainings where appropriate.

Session ten the execution of the Team led volunteer service project!