Apply Service Learning LOOP to Disaster Recovery

In the aftermath of hurricane Harvey and in anticipation of hurricanes Irma and Jose many are creating information platforms that use maps to show where the storms are hitting and resources that people can use to survive and recover. These also point to organizations who are providing service and who need donations and volunteers to do their work.  I point to some resources in this section of the Tutor/Mentor web library.

In the early 2000s I created a pdf that shows how volunteers who get involved in a tutor/mentor program often become evangelists who draw other volunteers and donors to support the program. In 2007 an intern created an animation to illustrate what I call a "service learning loop".  Today I created a Thinglink to point out different parts of the loop. Click on the dots and read the information provided.



All five parts of this loop are important. The weakest links are 1) support for knowledge aggregators who collect and share information others can use to get involved, and 2) not enough intermediaries who use their time, talent and communications ability to draw attention to the knowledge (right side) on a regular basis, so that more people use it to find where and how they can help (left side).

Below is another version of this graphic.



I've used versions of this graphic in numerous articles and presentations.  It's critical that more people understand the on-going role of intermediaries as well as the role of information libraries.  See more graphics showing role of intermediaries at https://www.pinterest.com/tutormentor/role-of-intermediaries/ 

I've used this and similar graphics to emphasize the many years it takes for kids to grow up.  There are no quick fixes.  The same is true for disaster recovery.

While many are needed in this intermediary role, investors need to also fund the work done by groups who collect and organize information. This needs to be done on a regular basis, and for many years.  I wrote an article a while back showing some of the challenges involved.

I hope those who read this article will see themselves in this intermediary role and will share the article with others using social media and personal communications channels.  That's putting this lesson into action.