Rutgers University in Your Community
Girl Scout Program Award

We appreciate that service and leadership are important for Girl Scouts. Below are some service-oriented activities and organizations at the university to inspire you to complete your own service project. Select one area, develop a plan, and OK it with your troop leader before you start.

Dance Marathon

Everyone likes to have a fun time for a good cause, and for the past 10 years, the Rutgers Dance Marathon has done just that. It has brought hundreds of college students together and raised more than $1.3 million for the Embrace Kids Foundation.

• Find out more about the marathon: http://marathon.rutgers.edu

Suggested Activity:

• Plan, organize, and run a council-approved troop fundraiser. With your troop, decide how to use the money. Be sure to follow your council's troop earning guidelines.

Eagleton Institute of Politics

Do you like getting into people's heads and finding out what they really think? Well, one of the ways the Eagleton Institute of Politics serves the state is by asking people their thoughts and opinions on various topics. The results of Eagleton polls are often quoted in newspapers and news programs.

• Learn about the institute and some of the programs it offers to the public: http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu

Suggested Activity:

Look at one of these polls that Eagleton conducted: http://eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu/index.php.

• Consider the types of questions asked. Think of an issue that affects your school, town, or state, and develop a topic to conduct a poll about. Have it approved by your troop leader.
• Ask people how they feel about the issue.
• Share your results with an official in your school district, town government, or the state legislature.

Oral History Projects

The best way to learn about history is from people who lived through it. Professors at Rutgers have been interviewing and recording conversations with individuals who don't just know about history, but experienced it as it happened, and in some cases, made history themselves.

• Read the personal stories of those who survived wars and recalled other significant historical events at the Rutgers Oral History Archives: http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu
• Read and listen to personal stories of some of America's greatest jazz musicians at the university's Institute of Jazz Studies: http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/IJS/OralHistory.html

Suggested Activity:

After reading some of the oral history documents, think about the questions you would like to ask someone who lived during a time of war or a period in recent history that interests you. Complete as many of the suggestions below as possible.

• Interview that person and create a document of the conversation.
• Work with him or her to create a family chart, tracing his or her ancestors as far back as you can.
• Take a recent photo of the person and find a photo from his or her past.
• Create a collage of photos and events that took place during his or her lifetime.
• Put all the information in a booklet, and make copies if possible.
• Present the finished “oral history” to the person and members of his or her family.

RecycleMania

For the past several years, Rutgers has participated in a nationwide recycling contest called RecycleMania. Not only is the university doing something good for the environment, but participating in a contest makes it fun for everyone.

• Learn more about Rutgers RecycleMania participation: http://www.fos.rutgers.edu/RecycleMania/Recycle.htm

Suggested Activity:

• Develop a recycling activity for your troop.
• Create a goal and deadline date for the activity.

Weather or Not

We're all affected by the weather, and Rutgers is at the forefront of helping New Jersey residents prepare for any weather condition or emergency. Rutgers students can major in meteorology to learn about weather systems, the atmosphere, climate issues, ocean dynamics, and forecasting.

• Review the kinds of careers open to students who study meteorology: http://meteorology.rutgers.edu/careers.htm

Suggested Activity:

Want to become a volunteer weather observer? You can help Rutgers as it participates in the observation network called CoCoRaHS (the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network) by taking measurements in your own backyard and entering them into a national network online.

• For more information about becoming a New Jersey CoCoRaHS weather observer, visit http://www.cocorahs.org/state.aspx?state=nj. The website will ask for information about you and supply details about how to collect the data. Be sure to get permission from your parent(s) and troop leader before registering.

Create an Information Guide

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has three major locations in the state. The historic city of Newark is one of them. Students who enroll at the Newark Campus have access to a student guide that includes a lot of great information about the campus and the city of Newark.

• Review the Rutgers–Newark guide: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/guide

Suggested Activity:

Consider the information that has been provided to help you learn more about Rutgers University and the Newark Campus.

• Use this website as a template to put together a brochure or booklet about your own school and town that could be given to a new or prospective student.
• Consider adding maps, photos, contact information, and ads for local businesses and community resources to your brochure.