Community colleges have been called the "people's college"; enrolling a diverse student population and serving their communities are both central to the roots and present-day mission of community colleges. A diverse student population consisting of students, who face financial, academic, and personal issues creates a unique challenge for community colleges to meet all students' needs. Despite the difficulty of meeting the needs of a diverse population, community colleges are in an ideal position to combat the public criticism that institutions of higher education are not responsive to societal problems, through use of community based educational programs. In fact, development of service learning programs in community colleges has been increasing. Building evaluation processes into a new program helps community college administrators ensure that they are meeting the diverse needs of their student population. When the authors conducted a study of a first-year program at a community college in the southwest, older students were found to be less satisfied with their experience, and so interviews were conducted to gain insight into why such a difference by age might exist. This article discusses establishment of a service learning program in a community college, the results of a first-year evaluation, and subsequent redesign and evaluation. (Contains 1 table.)