The Social Change Wheel was created by Minnesota Campus Compact almost 20 years ago and has served as a tool and resource for many schools across our network and beyond. In 2020, the Social Change Wheel received an update and the Social Change Wheel 2.0 Toolkit was launched. Since that time, we have seen this resource used in creative new ways that have introduced and illuminated the concepts of social change. The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) and their annual Community Day is one example of how the Social Change Wheel can bring new perspectives to service and community work.
Community Day is a bi-annual event at CSS that began in 1999 as way to live out their institutional values and be positive change makers in the community. Historically, the event has primarily featured a variety of service projects occurring on and off campus with students, staff, and faculty invited to participate. This year, however, the planning committee decided they wanted to add new opportunities for engagement that supported deeper learning about social change. During a campus visit by Seed Coalition Executive Director Rob Barron last fall, committee members were introduced to the Social Change Wheel and began thinking about how it could be incorporated into Community Day.
In addition to on and off-campus service projects, Community Day of Spring 2024 included a series of “Benedictine Changemaker” sessions hosted by local community organizations. Sessions included “Community Engagement in the Twin Ports,” facilitated by Head of the Lakes United Way, and “Know Your Why,” presented by Anthony Bonds, Assistant Superintendent of Duluth Schools. Two sessions specifically focused on learning about the Social Change Wheel were also presented by Adia Zeman Theis from Seed Coalition. At the end of these sessions, St. Scholastica President Barbara McDonald gave a brief video introduction to the Social Change Wheel, after which participants added stickers to large posters of the wheel as a demonstration of their commitment to future action they wanted to take in their community.
The day was not only impactful, but also encouraged participants to think about their current and future impact. “I found the session on the Social Change Wheel to be an incredibly engaging way to really understand what the concept is and see concrete examples of ways I’m already participating and ways I can expand my impact,” said one College of St. Scholastica student.
Organizers of Community Day see this framework as a strategy to add deeper learning into the day and to lift up community partners as co-educators. Mary Anderson, director of Career Services at CSS said the Social Change Wheel was a way to “Inspire folks to consider their roles in the social change wheel – both as an individual but also to recognize the impact we have as a collective.”
Interested in learning more about the Social Change Wheel or how Seed Coalition can contribute to events on your campus? Check out the Custom Services page of our website or reach out to any member of our team to learn more!
