SEEDS is an interdisciplinary group of students at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor who are pursuing careers or long-term volunteer opportunities in development service. We pursue service learning activities in impoverished areas of Latin America and in local areas of community development need. In addition to our ongoing service efforts in Southeast Michigan, members from SEEDS have developed a partnerships with rural communities in Latin America to investigate community-wide problems in the developing world and work with communities to develop sustainable solutions.

From 2002 until 2008, SEEDS worked with Rancho al Medio, a rural community in the Dominican Republic. Over the course of several spring breaks , SEEDS installed and tested water filtration systems, taught a variety of academic subjects, educated the community about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, and aided a clinic supported by a contingent of students from University of Michigan Medical School.

Since 2008, SEEDS has sustained a collaboration with the community of Samox San Lucas in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. In the spring of 2009, our teams implemented programs including water collection and containment, hygiene education, and needs assessment in the community. SEEDS and Samox have continued their partnership in 2010 and beyond, working with the community on such projects as agricultural developments and continuing hygeine education. SEEDS is partnered with the CasaSito association, a non-governmental organization based in Guatemala.

SEEDS is also partnered with the organization GEAR UP at the University of Michigan. In collaborating with GEAR UP, SEEDS has been involved in organizing classes that expose Detroit-area high school students to many of the technical components of SEEDS's international work.