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: 

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

1. The role of trainings, courses, & meetings 

 

The UC Bonner program considers our workshops and training opportunities to be one of our strongest attributes. Starting off the school year, we take our first year Bonners through an intensive orientation and then combine our veteran Bonners on a retreat that promotes trust, teamwork and new experiences. Each month the schedule is full with class tracks that promote student development dependent on the student's role of leadership in the program.  Also, each semester we offer a workshop called National Issues, where the students are exposed to a critical issues that we are practically facing such as Gambling and Tobacco use. Monthly Bonner and Center meetings are also added to the calendar in order for the student to maintain solidarity within the program.

     

     2.     First Year Trip

 

This year marks the 8th year that the First Year Service Experience trip was coordinated in partnership with Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) in Asheville, North Carolina. The experience includes living in a hostel and collaborating in a community kitchen and sharing many meals with all sorts of interesting people. While in Asheville the students collaborate on what MHO calls Rampfest.  Rampfest is in its 20th year of providing wheelchair ramps to people in the community who are unable to get in and out of their homes because of the lack of funds. This past year we took a group of 9 students ( 7 Freshman, 1 replacement, 1 Senior who served as a team leader and 1 staff member.)

The morning typically began by 8am delivering the ramp modules to all the sites giving the students a good opportunity to observe what the region and the people we were serving were like.  By the end of the week the students were finishing building the ramps and helping other teams with last minute details. 

The most significant aspect of the experience was the shared process of working together on such a large project through the course of a week.  Living, sleeping, shared meals, hammering thousands of nails, measuring, and safety percautions all brought the group to another level of a shared experience.

 

     3.     Second Year Exchange

 

In the transition of a Bonner coordinator and all the changes and growing pains that occured in the last few months, unofrtunately we were not able to provide and/or take part of a second year exchange this year.  This is an aspect the program can grow into.

 

     4.     Third Year (and beyond) Leadership Roles

 

Our Third Year students are involved in coordinating our annual Repair Affair event.  This year was our 11th year to provide this service to the community where 11 families in Knox County are provided several home major home repairs and/or weatherization where in other circumstances that would not be able to afford such repairs.  This year was a very successful year because we saw over 150 students, faculty, staff and community members come and volunteer for this event. Our students coordinated the entire event; from recruitment of contractors in the community, campus-wide recruitment of volunteers, assesment of houses, creating massive supply lists from Lowe's and the Local Lumber yards, and then smoothly running the event on the big day. 

 

     5.     Senior Capstones & Presentation of Learning

 

Our Seniors took part in coordinating a fundraising event at our local Daniel boone Festival held in October.  This past year that were able to raise enough money to provide an all Booner trip during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend to Atlanta where the trip provided an educational experience for those who participated to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement and the leadership in the movement of Dr. King himself.

At the closing of the year the Seniors each gave a 10 minute presentation of Learning to all Bonner students, faculty, staff, and communtiy partners that showed interest in each particular student.

 

 

Union College Bonner RoadMap

 

 What is Union College Bonner Road Map?

     In the Bonner program we learn about the Five E's. Expectation, Exploration, Experience, Example, & Expertise. Our Expectation as a freshmen coming into the program is to have good service skills and be ready to experience Bonner Life. That year you will be able to explore many things that you might have not ever been introduced to. During the year students explore different cultures and beliefs of other Bonner students and the community in which they work.

      In the second year students get to Experience leadership skills by delegating under a community

partner or an organization in the Union College community. During the first semester students get to organize and plan the Bonner Spring Service Trip during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The money that they use to plan thier trip comes from a fundraiser that the seniors plan during the fall semester.

     The third year Bonners get to plan and organize the county Repair Affair. This is one of our most successful events that Bonners plan. Its an one-day event that Union College students and staff help with. On this day volunteers repair homes in the community wither it be painting or putting drywall up in a room of a home. This past year was Union Colleges 11th annual Repair Affair, where we repaired eleven homes in one day.

     The frouth year students get to plan and be apart of Barbourvilles annual Daniel Boone Festival. At the festival Union Bonners set up booth and sale food to help raise money for the Spring Service Trip that the second year students plan. At the end of the year the forth year students present a senior capstone. Talking about what they have learned by being a Bonner using the Six Common Commitments. 

• Social Justice: Advocating for fairness, impartiality and equality while addressing systemic social and environmental issues.
• Civic Engagement: Paricipating interntionally as a citizen in the democratic process, actively engaging in public policy and direct service.
• Community-Building: Establishing and sustaining a vibrant community of place, personal relationships and common interests.
• Spiritual Exploration: Ecploring person beliefs, values and sportuality encountered in service and leadership while respecting the pracites of others.
• International Understanding: Developing international understanding that enables individuals to participate successfully and sensitively in a golbal society.
• Diversity: Respecting and engaging the many diffrent dimensions of diversity in our public lives.

 

 

Implementation of Community Partnerships: 

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

1. Orienting and managing community partnerships (orientation, site visits, meetings, strategic planning)

 

This past year the Congress Represenitives and our Graduate Assistant planned the first Community Partners Orientation Banquet.  The banquet took place at the end of the fall semester to communicate to our community partners of our appreciation of their involvment in the program. The congress reps also tried to be more intentional in visiting placments sites in the commmunity.  

 

     2.     Partners as co-educators and other unique initiatives (including new academic linkages)

 

We continue to have dialogue with the faculty and staff as well as community partners to create a service learning curriculum.

 

     3.     Integration of site-based or issue-oriented teams

 

This past spring semester was the first initiative for a Community Bases Research team.  This team consists of 5 students with a common interest in Biology.  Their goal is to collaborate with the Health Department in teasting water quality and from that research they intend to write a publication of their findings to local leaders and state officials as well as present their findings to the community. The students long term goal is to use their research to write a grant to provide septic tanks and clean water for the small community in which they did their research.

 

  

Campus-wide Culture and Infrastructure: 

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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):

1. Key relationships and activities involving faculty and academic connections.  In particular, what work was done with relevant coursework, a minor, or other curricular integration.

 

This year the program made presentation to the faculty concerning our service curriculum.  We have had meetings with the faculty and staff to promote dialogue about our program and service opportunities for partnership.

 

     2.     Key relationships and activities involving other departments or divisions on campus (for example for recruitment, student wellness or retention, financial aid, and so on).

 

We have a strong relationship with addmissions, student development and finacial aid.  Several of the staff sits on our advisory board and promotes the program in the community.

 

     3.     Unique initiatives (such as events or strategic planning) that have enhanced institutionalization of service and civic engagement on campus.

 

A unique inititative that we started was adding a mandatory service element to our Welcome Weekend that all incoming freshman take part in. We also used this as a filter to find students that would be interested getting more involved in civic engagement, social justice programs and community outreach.

 

 

 

     First year Bonner students also go on a First year trip to do service for a community outside of the college and its community. A tradition that Union College has had for many years is each year the student go to Asheville NC, and work with MHO (Mountain Housing Opportunity). At MHO student get to build wood modules that will be used during the annual Ramp Fest.