Annual Report – Programmatic Section

Please complete this template below to share programmatic highlights.  The entire report can be three pages or less.  Please share information and highlights, in a letter-like or reporting format, that addresses the following three categories and provides a synopsis of your Bonner Program this year.

Implementation of Student Development: 

How did you implement the developmental model this year within your co-curricular and service activities? (suggested one page text):

     Our program is unique in that we are at a community college. Thus, our student development model works differently than some other schools in terms of service exchanges, capstones and trips. However, we have implemented the student development model in many ways through trainings and enrichment activities, campus wide CEL days, and other such activities.

     Every two weeks, we held all-corps trainings in which a workshop was implemented (using the Bonner Training Modules). Students would participate in such workshops as "What Does it Mean to be a Good Citizen". Their roles in these workshops was to converse on subjects and reflect through their own service. Each of our community partners was assigned a corps group of students who would meet on a weekly basis and discuss different topics as well as reflect on their service at that site. For example, the Elijah;s Promise hunger team would have a meeting every week in which one student would present a topic of interest to them. This topic would then be related to the service those students were doing at the soup kitchen.

     As the center for community service on our campus, we hosted some service days in which MCC students from different academic courses would participate in environmental cleanups or volunteer for various service opportunities at Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen (led and organized by MCC Bonner Leaders) . We would include them in reflection pieces before and after their service, and some students received extra credit for the class in which they were referred from.

     This past year, and in years past, we utilized different works of art and/or film to engage in disussions and reflection. One such example this year included Denzel Washinton's The Great Debaters which allowed our students to discuss how its message is still relevant today and how the work we do can help to change the problems it addressed (racism, poverty).

     Some of our corps members participated in CEL events with other colleges, such as The College of New Jersey and Rider. We helped TCNJ organize and implement several environmental cleanups this past spring and helped organize their reflection piece to go along with it.

     Through these activities and service itself, our students have grown into their leadership roles. Some have gone above and beyond and will take on greater responsiblity in the next academic year. All of our corps members who completed their first term of service have shown great improvement, not only in their service, but in their public speaking capabilities, social interaction, and understanding of community issues.

Implementation of Community Partnerships: 

Please share a summary of your work with community partners, touching in particular on the following categories (suggested one page text):

Orienting and managing community partnerships:

     MCC's Bonner Leader program has seen some shifts and changes in its community partnerships over the past year. Several non-profits in our network have faced significant financial and organiztional struggles recently, and we hope to continue to work with those agencies to strenghthen and support their operations. We were also delighted to establish relationships with several new partners this year, as well as build and develop our exsisting/long running partnerships.

     A particular success for the MCC program this year has been the addition of the Salvation Army of Perth Amboy as a strong community partner in our Middlesex County network. The Salvation Army serves a diverse community in Middlesex County which we have been eager to work with for many years. Their organization, at only one location, houses a soup kitchen, food pantry, after-school program, and a transitional housing center for men. This diverse range of services has established the Salvation Army as a highly regarded resource in Perth Amboy, and has allowed our MCC Bonner Leaders to serve that community in various ways. This partnership has created the space for our Salvation Army team to explore issues of hunger, homlessness, and urban education on a weekly basis.

Campus-wide Culture and Infrastructure: 

Please describe key elements and progress in the development of campus-wide infrastructure and the role of the Bonner Program in enhancing (or being enhanced by) campus-wide culture and participation in service, touching on the following (suggested one page text):

     Throughout this past academic year, Democracy House pushed for intitaves in Service Learning that will lead to greater relationships with professors and faculty and eventually lead to the implementation of courses and course work designed around the idea of civc engagement and service.

     During the Spring Semester, our organization partnered with professors in the Social Behavior Dept. to incorporate service into their course work. It was a small step but one towards a greater goal. Students in these classes were offered extra credit points in exchange for performing service with Democracy House at a river cleanup, Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen and other oppurtunities that were available.

     On Constitution Day, along with professors of Political Science, we helped to organize and recruit people from various classes to attend a workshop regarding the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The participating students from the different courses were given credit points.

     When we held the Holocaust Speakers Forum, an entire English was encouraged to attend and write a paper on what they learned. This was through the efforts of our staff and partnership with faculty.

     These steps we  have taken in the past year are all leading to mroe concrete intititaves in Service Learning. Conversations have begun regarding the implementation of new courses on Civic Engagement, Writing About Social Activism as well as greater partnerships with faculty in incorporating service into their cirriculum.  Hopefully, these courses will be part of the Spring 2009 course list. The necessary steps towards creating greater academic connections on campus will continue to prosper as the next academic year nears.