Connecting People & Projects

CCESL Scholar Shop

Want to address issues in your community but you're not sure where to start?

CCESL's Scholar Shop database is a resource that can help you get started. Scholar Shop connects DU faculty, staff, and students with community partners to develop collaborative projects that meet community-identified needs. 

Projects include student-led and faculty-supervised thesis projects, community-engaged learning projects linked to credit-bearing courses, and faculty-led scholarship projects. Scholar Shop can be used to find and connect with community partners to fulfill requirements for programs (such as course sequences, capstones, theses, practicums, etc.) while collaborating on impactful work and gaining hands-on experience

Who is CCESL's Scholar Shop for?

DU Community: DU students, faculty, and staff can use Scholar Shop to connect with organizations and collaborate on projects that address community-identified interests and issues.

Community Partners: Community partners seeking support in addressing community-driven research questions and/or creative works can post their project needs in the database to connect with the DU community that have the expertise and/or training that aligns with their requests for support. 

How Does it Work?

Whether you’re an organization, student, faculty or staff member, once you express interest in a Scholar Shop collaboration, we’ll work with you to fine-tune your project ideas, goals, and timeline. We'll then identify and connect you to those whose interests align and have relevant experience for the collaboration. Once a team has been "matched," the collaboration can begin.

• See Past Projects

Getting Started

• For Students

  Whether you’ve found an organization on the Community Partner List you’d like to connect with or you’re just exploring possibilities, send an email to ccesl@du.edu to get started. 

  Please Note: student-led projects are typically linked to an academic requirement and mentored by a faculty advisor

• For Community Partners

  To begin, community partners complete a brief Scholar Shop Interest Form. Once received, we'll work with you to fine-tune project ideas and identify relevant students and faculty for potential collaboration. If this is your first time, we’ll create a profile for your organization on the Community Partner List which will be shared with and displayed to the DU community.

  Please note, Scholar Shop does not match organizations with volunteers to complete community service. If you are looking for student volunteers, please post on the University of Denver Volunteer Base instead.

• For Faculty & Staff

  Whether you’re exploring collaboration possibilities, seeking community partners for your class, or you’ve found an organization on the Community Partner List you’d like to connect with, please send an email to ccesl@du.edu to get started.

 

Project Process

• 

  Planning the Project

  After you’ve been connected, in order to encourage careful planning in all collaborations, student-led Scholar Shop projects require the development of a Project Plan which includes a timeline and projected outcomes made in collaboration with those involved.   

• 

  Doing the Project

  Those involved are responsible for carrying out the project as planned. CCESL will check in periodically and can provide additional support based on project needs.

• 

  Monitoring Project Results & Impact

  At the close of each collaboration, the members must deliver the project or research to the community organization. We love to hear about successful Scholar Shop projects and highlight them in our monthly newsletter, the Public Good Impact blog! If you want to share your experience in a short blog post, we'd love to spotlight it. It also helps inspire future Scholar Shop collaborations.

Funding & Support

• For Students

  Students may apply for funding to support project-related costs through the Advancing Community-Engaged (ACE) Student Scholarship Grant. Applications are reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis. Additionally, undergraduate students may be eligible to apply for funding from the Undergraduate Research Center (URC) through the Partners in Scholarship (PinS) program (see Undergraduate Research Center Funding Opportunities). 

  Students participating in Scholar Shop projects will have access to a variety of support to aid with successful completion of the project. For more information about this support, ask us!

• For Faculty

  For faculty-led projects, faculty may be eligible to apply for the Public Good Fund (for faculty research and/or creative work) or Community-Engaged Teaching Funding Learning (for courses). 

Community Partner Database

To see current community partners and projects, check out the Community Partner List below:

Volunteering

There are multiple organizations on campus that offer volunteer opportunities for students to plug into. CCESL oversees DU Service & Change (DUSC), a student organization engaging the DU community in diverse opportunities that facilitate positive change for the greater public good, and a Volunteer Opportunities database that local organizations post opportunities to.  

If you are an alum looking to volunteer at DU, you can visit Advancement's Volunteer Portal. 

 

Getting Started:

Community Partners: To get started, please provide us with the details of your volunteer opportunities, including role descriptions, time commitments, and any specific requirements by filling out this Volunteer Opportunity Form.  

Students: Students interested in looking for current opportunities can visit DUSC's Crimson Connect page or Volunteer Opportunities database. Students interested in one of the posted opportunities can sign up to volunteer by directly reaching to the contact listed on the opportunity. 

• DUSC Crimson Connect Page
• Volunteer Opportunities Database

• Student FAQs

  - I found an opportunity I’m interested in. How do I get more information? 

  You may contact the organization directly to learn more about the opportunities they have for volunteers.  

  - I signed up to volunteer. What do I do now? 

  You will need to coordinate directly with the organization you reached out to make arrangements. If you have questions about an opportunity, ask them in the confirmation email during the sign up process. You may also confirm date, time, and location with the agency and provide your alternative contact information for the organization in this email if you choose.  

  - How often is this database updated? None of the opportunities listed interest me but I still want to volunteer.  

  Check back weekly as opportunities shift! There are also opportunities available across the Denver Metro Area. You may contact ccesl@du.edu to find other ways and opportunities that fit your skills and schedule.  

  - I’m interested in an opportunity, but it is off-campus and requires transportation. What are my options? 

  University of Denver students receive an EcoPass that gives you access to the RTD public transit system. To learn more and how to use it, visit this page: Denver Mass Transit | Parking | University of Denver (du.edu) 

   

Note: All CCESL programs, including this one, undergo an antiracist, anti-oppression review at least annually. This year, changes were made to program materials and applications based on that review.