Serving American Community Program

2007 SAC participants say good bye to Rishi and thank him for being part of the SAC program as a Stanford Coordinator.

Overview

The Serving American Community (SAC) Program is VIAs newest program that gives four Stanford students the opportunity to lead 20-25 Japanese students for two weeks on a service based program focusing on poverty and homelessness in Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay Area. This program will be held from March 17-30, 2008 (Flexible during finals).

Stanford Program Coordinators will work with a Japanese Coordinator to plan activities such as feeding the homeless at soup kitchens, visiting homeless shelters, and discussing poverty with guest speakers from various non-profit organizations. The Coordinators will live with the participants in San Francisco during their spring break and serve with the Japanese students on their volunteer projects. These projects include working with the homeless at Glide Memorial Church, working with homeless children at the Opportunity Center, serving food with Urban Ministry, and much more.

2007 SAC Participants (Sayako and Mayuko) making salad with Urban Ministry.

Stanford Program Coordinators Responsibilities

Stanford Program Coordinators will work together as a team to organize and lead educational activities for the Japanese participants. Program coordinators will also research and conduct educational presentations on different aspects of poverty and homelessness. While serving as hosts to the Japanese students, Stanford Coordinators will lead various trips around Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay Area. Finally, Coordinators will act as cultural liasons to assists participants in adjusting to thier daily life in America.

2007 SAC Coordinators (Lindsay Oishi, Rishi Chopra, and Mario Suntanu) and the Program Director (Bina Zaitsu) make a welcome sign for the Japanese participants.

Pre Program Training

In preparation for the SAC program, Stanford Program Coordinators will attend weekly meetings and a weekend retreat in February that will concentrate on team building, leadership and cultural sensitivity.

Lindsay Oishi eating a traditional Japanese meal with Jinha Lee and Chiaki Ifuku in Japan.

Compensation

• Room and board in San Francisco during the second week of the program.
• Reimbursement for most program-related expenses.
• $700 towards airfare for a service based trip to Japan.

Timeline

How to Apply

Application and reference forms are available here.

Contact

For more information please contact Bina Zaitsu at bina@viaprograms.org.