Calling students to serve the homeless: A project to promote altruism and community service

Americans' participation in community and civic activities has declined over the last several decades. This article describes a project in which social work faculty, practitioners, and students cooperated to develop and implement a local, college-based community service project to house the homeless. The author focuses on the impact of a Service Learning Seminar-a one-credit course that combined academic and community service work-on students' prosocial attitudes. He discusses the project's theoretical basis, the research findings, methodological weaknesses, and implications for the future.