Section 1: Demographics

Please place text next to or below each bullet point.

• Number of individuals who have applied to your AmeriCorps positions:  

  • 2; Eugene K. and Sanket P.

• Number of volunteers who are recruited, coordinated or supported by your program: 

  • 16; see program roster on hard-copy report   

• Number of disadvantaged youth serving as volunteers:  

  • 11; see roster on hard-copy report

• Number of individuals enrolled in a degree-seeking program at a community, professional or technical college, 

  or within a undergraduate or graduate program at a college or university who serve as volunteers: 
  • 16; all members are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at Burlington County College

• Number of individuals born between 1946 and 1964 who serve as volunteers: 

  • 0

Section 2: Performance Measures

Please place text next to or below each bullet point.

• Number of volunteers recruited: 

  • 0 this quarter; our next enrollment period is January 2010

• Number of volunteer hours contributed: 

  • Over 1300 volunteer hours have been completed by BCC Bonner Leaders since October 1, 2009.  Hours were calculated from service hours logged in BWBRS only (i.e. they do not include hours from Bonner Volunteers).

Section 3: Strategic Initiatives

Below are the CNCS Strategic Initiatives, please give at least one example of activity that addresses at least one strategic initiative that your program has addressed. This may or may not be related to a performance measure. Describe the activity, including need that was addressed; local collaborations or partners; service activity; and results.

Engaging students in communities & ensuring a brighter future for America's youth 

          As members of our program, BCC students were offered the opportunity to enroll in a course (Special Projects in Social Sciences, SSC-293-01*), taught by Program Director Alexandra Fields.  Students designed projects with feedback from their site supervisors that would directly service or support their community service sites.  One such project included building partnerships with local organizations to provide free event tickets and passes for children enrolled in the FLEX program at Family Service.  Children enrolled in this program are often in foster care and facing significant personal challenges.  Through her project, our student was able to enrich the time children spent with their case managers by increasing access to local plays, high school productions, and other recreational activities through tickets donated by local organizations.  These organizations have also pledged to continue their relationship with Family Service by agreeing to reserve tickets in the future for consumers of the FLEX program thus ensuring a "brighter future" for the youth served by Family Service.

          Structuring our program with an optional course has allowed our students to engage more deeply with their service partners through sustainable, structured projects.  Students enrolled in the course will then take their experiences into our group to further encourage effective community engagement.

*Syllabus of SSC-293-01 is attached to hard-copy report.

Engaging students in communities

     Students also planned multiple events for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  Partnering with Family Service, students hosted a Peanut Butter and Jelly Drive on campus to donate to the Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers Program.  Over 100 sandwiches were made and donated over the course of three days.  Students also hosted a Sleep-Out for Hunger and Homelessness that collected toiletry items for the FLEX program at Family Service.  Over 50 bars of soap, 6 shampoo and conditioners, and a large box of travel-sized toothpaste was collected and donated.*

*See email, newspaper clipping, and event flyers attached to hard-copy report.

Section 4: Great Stories

Highlight member activities which are especially reflective of the impact the program has in the community, or which illustrate an innovative or highly successful aspect of program operation. 

          Students in the BCC Bonner AmeriCorps Leader Program hosted a "Faces of Homelessness Panel" through the National Coalition for the Homeless Speakers' Bureau during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  The panel feature three speakers; one was a local woman who is currently experiencing homelessness.  Her story was heard by a senior-level administrator of the College.  Afterwards, the administrator initiated a conversation with our local speaker and developed a friendship.  She invited the speaker to spend Thanksgiving with her family and wrote to thank our program for helping to turn her awareness into action.

          Many of our students find service opportunities in the county for each other.  Good examples of this are the Youth Services Expo (Oct. 16, 2009), the Lark School Run the Bridge marathon (Nov. 1, 2009), and the Imagination Kingdom Playground Build (Oct. 24 - Nov. 1, 2009).  It's inspiring to see how members in our program develop their passions and abilities to find and share opportunities to give back.