Community Fellows

Joining a Community of Practice is an immersive semester-long experience where a group of students partner with a local nonprofit and work to address a specific social issue through the lenses of education, service, philanthropy, and advocacy. Students will complete service hours at a local nonprofit twice a month, as well as work with their group to plan education and advocacy events for the App State community. Social issue themes for Fall 2024 are Food Security and Hunger Alleviation, Affordable Housing, Environmental Justice, and Local-to-Global Service. Students can expect to spend around 10 hours a month in this engagement (average 1-2 hours a week). If you are interested in becoming a Community Fellow, please complete the interest form below.

Become a Community Fellow

Mission

The Community Fellows program seeks to strengthen and nurture Appalachian State University’s relationship with students, faculty, and Community Partners by facilitating resource sharing and exposure to the nonprofit sector.

Communities of Practice

To reach our mission, six Community Fellows lead Communities of Practice to help students dive deeper into local social issues and interact with nonprofit organizations that serve Watauga and surrounding counties. The foundation of this program adheres to the United Nations’ (UN) sustainability goals to ensure that all efforts made by the program support a better and more sustainable future for all. Learn more about these Communities of Practice below.

Environmental Justice

This Community of Practice (CoP) will be partnering with TBD and will serve 3-4 times a semester at TBD for a longer period of time (i.e. half-day experience). The group will participate in a few shorter service experiences closer to campus and will plan events to educate the App State community on Environmental Justice, as well as raise funds for this nonprofit through our annual Plant Sale.

Food Security & Hunger Alleviation

This Community of Practice (CoP) will be partnering with the Hunger and Health Coalition. This CoP will regularly assist with A Simple Gesture Program, as well as serve 3-4 times a semester as a group at Hunger and Health Coalition facilities. The group will spearhead App State’s participation in The Hunger Challenge and will plan events to educate the App State community on food security, such as the Free Farmers Market initiative and food drives benefitting Hunger and Health Coalition. The Hunger and Health Coalition serves over 70 clients each day. What started 40 years ago as a small food pantry in a closet has grown into a food bank for all of Watauga County with the only free pharmacy in the area. Through generous donations and passionate community members, Hunger and Health Coalition offers a myriad of services including a Market, Food Pantry, Food Recovery, a Wood Lot, Back Pack program for children, and Sharing Tree during Christmas.

Affordable Housing

This Community of Practice (CoP) will be partnering with Watauga Habitat for Humanity and Watauga Community Housing Trust. This CoP will serve every other week at service sites identified by Watauga Habitat for Humanity and will volunteer for assignments and other needs of the Watauga Community Housing Trust. This group will plan events to educate the AppState community on Housing Affordability, as well as raise funds for these non-profits through events of the group’s choice.

Local-to-Global Service

Our newest Community of Practice will examine the needs and operational strategies of three global non-profit organizations: Service for Peace (Dominican Republic), Dreaming for Change (Burundi), and ProGen (Benin). Participants will engage in frequent conversations with the leadership of these international organizations, while also hearing from visiting leaders and local scholars. The Community of Practice will also carry out advocacy and outreach on behalf of these organizations.