Bonner Weekly Updates
The Bonner Foundation staff send an email each week to our Bonner Directors, Coordinators, Partners, etc. The purpose of the email is to keep everyone informed of important Bonner announcements as well as to send information we think might be beneficial or valued by the Network.
The Bonner Weekly
March 22 - 26, 2010
Greetings Bonners!
March has been a great month for Bonner Service! Just check out what you have been doing on your Alternative Spring Break. Also, lots of details are being finalized for SLI. Please register and fill out those surveys! If you have ANY questions feel free to e-mail me at Kathleen@bonner.org.
Thanks ALL!
Kathleen
“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ~Mark Twain
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1. Bonner SLI Surveys
2. Americorps Alums - Story Bank Project
3. Spirit of Service Awards
4. Earth Hour
5. Alternative Spring Break
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1. Bonner SLI Surveys
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2. Americorps Alums - Story Bank Project
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3. Spirit of Service Awards
Click here: http://www.nationalservice.gov/emails/email_10_0317.htm
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4. Vote Earth ... Your Light Switch is Your Vote
Earth Hour is an event where hundreds of millions of people around the world join together to take action on climate change. This is done by performing one very simple action: turning off our lights for one hour. Earth Hourprovides a way for all of us to join together to have a positive impact in the fight to protect our future from the impacts of climate change. This year,Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Earth Hour first began in Sydney, Australia and quickly grew into a worldwide occurrence. In 2008, 50 million individuals in 371 cities in 35 countries participated. In 2009, nearly one billion people participated along with 4,000 cities and 88 countries.
But Earth Hour isn’t just for big cities — anyone can participate. To see whatEarth Hour is all about, check out this YouTubevideo.
We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.
Vote Earth by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.
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5. Alternative Spring Break 2010
Augsburg College did an alternative break with Yahweh Ministries and Habitat for Humanity in Mobile, Alabama this year. 30 students participated and did amazing work on homes and mobile homes that were damaged in the storms. Those houses will be used as transitional and permanent residences now. We have pictures if you are interested.
Centre College did an Alternative Spring Break trip this year to Atlanta, GA. The students left this past Saturday and will return on Thursday. The trip was coordinated by Kate Wintuska (a first-year Bonner Scholar) and Emmy Robichaud (a prospective Bonner Leader). We partnered with Community Collaborations International, a non-profit liaison that connects volunteer groups with projects in that area. You can read about their trip and on-going service work on the Centre 2010 ASB Blog: http://centrecollegeasb2010.blogspot.com/
Converse College is sending a team of 8 students to Kahului Maui, HI for the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge this spring break. Our team will work with the local Habitat chapter on build sites and at their Restore. Two current Bonner Leaders are on the team, Jess Lee and Nicole Cuadrado.
Lindsay Wilson College took 8 students to Little Rock, AR where we attended the IMPACT conference and volunteered at the AR Rice Depot through ‘Volunteer to See’. We had an amazing trip and changed lives while we were there. J
Lynchburg College
One of the services Lynchburg College did was to take students (Bonner and non-Bonners) to participate in Harvest of Hope in Orlando, FL during the week of spring break. It was an AMAZING experience. While there, students and staff gleaned the following: Rutabagas/beets/carrots- 2250lbs and 16,030 lbs of Grapefruit. We joined students from Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Shenandoah University, University of Virginia Wise and University of Tennessee.
In addition to the items gleaned, we boxed and shipped over 34,000 lbs of canned goods and delivered 100 meals to those who were homeless in one of the local parks.
Some student reflections included:
Bonner Sophomore Elizabeth Brown:
The trip to Florida for Harvest of Hope was the best option for spring break. I think that this trip has changed me in a good way especially in my goals for my health promotion major. I had helped at countless homeless shelters and soup kitchens but each meal I had fed the hungry had not been very nutritious. A big part of good health is a good balanced diet and one thing that the hungry do not get is fresh produce. Helping to harvest fresh produce to donate to local food banks was one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve ever had. I cannot wait to help out with Phase 2 to get our government involved in this movement. My hope for the future is to continue volunteering with the Society of St. Andrew and Harvest of Hope.
Bonner Junior Mark Reiner:
My experience over spring break with the Society of Saint Andrews was very positive. I feel like a lot was done over three days and everyone did a good amount of work. The people in charge seemed very organized yet flexible to changes in scheduling. I also appreciated the awareness lessons that went along with the service. I thought the feeding of the homeless in the park was a good capstone for the work we had done the previous day.
Bonner Junior Anahi Martinez:
When I signed up to attend the program, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that we were going to be doing service; but since I am used to doing service it was no big deal. However, as soon as the program started I knew that this was going to be an unforgettable experience. I got to experience the joy of doing community service in Florida by actually picking up the product and helping to place it into the food bank truck. Another day we went and package can foods into boxes that were going to be distributed to those needing them. This session really brought out the team work in all of us, who before the program were complete strangers and now had become very good friends through our common commitment: to serve. We were able to work effectively by diving the work into small tasks: one person would be getting the cans, the other was the runner, and another one was placing them into the box, while another was picking up the filled boxes and placing them into the correct station.
By the end of the trip we all had gained a better understanding of how we can make a change through sustainability and an appropriate method of food distribution. There is no need for anyone to be hungry if only we could distribute the food properly; unfortunately everyday hundreds of children go to bed hungry and many of them die of malnutrition. The program empowered me as well as my fellow mates to take action either by engaging our congress representatives or by increase awareness on the topic. Overall, Harvest of Hope was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone!
Mars Hill: Below is a link to the blog kept during Mars Hill College’s spring break trip to Washington D.C. last week. There are many great photos and reflections on the blog.
http://marshillalternativespringbreak.blogspot.com/
Maryville College: Preston Fields and Diana Lovelace led a group of Maryville students to Asheville, where they engaged in a variety of service projects, including working at a home for Veterans in Asheville. They were struck by the young vets, coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, who don’t have homes or other resources to start their lives again. I’m sure they’ll send you pictures if you want them, but it’s been a good trip. There are 16 folks on the trip, and they are staying in lovely Montreat!
Spelman College: For over 150 million years, sea turtles have roamed the Earth and now due to human evolution, all species are either threatened or endangered. In groups too numerous to count, they once navigated throughout the world's oceans. But in just the past 100 years, demand for turtle meat, eggs, skin and colorful shells has dwindled their populations. Destruction of feeding and nesting habitats and pollution of the world's oceans are all taking a serious toll on remaining sea turtle populations. Many breeding populations have already become extinct, and entire species are being wiped out.
The main objective of the Spelman Sea Turtle Conservation project is to protect the nests from human poachers and more recently from the erosion of the beach. Before the project began, the poaching rate was over 95% but with the presence of our night patrols and the hatcheries on the beach, the survival rate has increased to over 90% last season.
Eight Spelman students, two staff members and one professor for the Environmental Studies department will travel to the Talamanca region of Costa Rica to help guard nesting turtles, learn to identify turtle tracks, count the number of eggs, record tag numbers and assist with building and relocating the eggs to our hatchery.
Hope House of Savannah, Inc.
“…to be the best community choice for single-mother families in crisis.”
March 7-11, 2010
Early Sunday morning the halls were filled with the sound of 20 young girls rushing to pack and secure our rooms for our departure to Savannah, Georgia. Equipped with luggage and snacks we pilled on the bus oblivious as to what the next four days would bring. Upon our arrival to the city we were greeted by the members of the “First African Baptist Church”. We learned a great deal about the church as well as our history as African Americans. After this visit we explored the city where we were introduced to the rich history and traditions of Savannah. Our tour came to an end with a visit to the site that we were to do service at for the next few days: the HOPE house, a shelter for young mothers and their children. The staff and residence at the HOPE house presented us with exceptional hospitality and warmth. For the next two days we arrived at the HOPE house at 9:00 a.m. ready for service. These two days we worked diligently around the house fulfilling all the task required of us. Our work included painting, landscaping, cleaning and completely remodeling. Due to our passion for service and desire to have a hand in transforming the lives of the residence of the home, we first found our strenuous home improvement tasks to be inadequate forms of service. However as time progressed we began to realize that supplying these women and their families with a sufficient living area is just as important and necessary as tutoring a child for a day. On the final day before departure we were invited to teach life skills courses to the “at risk” youth of a local community center. We spent hours preparing our presentations. When we arrived at the community center we got off to a challenging start but we were pleased and surprised that our presentations went well. We engaged in interactive activities with the children and were able to reach them in ways we thought impossible. Following our class we went to dinner with the children and made connections that will last a life time. We were elated to know that we had the opportunity to be positive examples of who they could be. This was perhaps the most enlightening and rewarding experience of the entire trip.
Along with improving the conditions of the HOPE house we were able to improve the conditions of our own relationships. During our service trip new bonds between Bonners as well as the staff were formed and old friendships were strengthened. We learned things about each other that we will never forget, and always consider as we continue to interact and function collectively as a unit. As a result of our Spring Break Service Trip we are now proud to say that the Bonner Class of 2013 is composed of 20 hardworking and passionate young ladies. Our unit is a force to be reckoned with.
"The Spelman College Bonner Scholars Program Alternative Spring Break in Talamanca, Costa Rica was a wonderful opportunity to engage in community service and service learning through habitat preservation for Leatherback Sea Turtles. We also were able to aid in the College's Quality Enhancement Plan of 'Going Global' by expanding our horizons and increasing our cultural competency. Overall, we worked hard, played even harder, and formed life long friendships - all in the name of service."
Happy Spring!
The Bonner Weekly
March 15 - 19, 2010
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1) Nominations
CLICK HERE
Current Bonner Network Campus Surveys
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2) Bonner AmeriCorps Member Evaluation -- Screencast Tutorial
We’re asking all School Administrators to do periodic evaluations of their Bonner AmeriCorps Members in BWBRS. The purpose of the Member Evaluation process is to help members see how their contributions assist community partners in achieving their mission and to serve as a tool to help ensure that members are clear on the requirements and expectations of a Bonner AmeriCorps position.
300-hour members only need an End of Term evaluation. 450- and 900-hour members need both a Midterm and End of Term Evaluation.
View this screencast to see how you can begin evaluating your Bonner AmeriCorps members.
Thank you,
The Bonner AmeriCorps Team
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3) 20th Anniversary Summer Leadership Institute Planning - Heads Up and Last Call for the Survey
Greetings. This week, we'll be having a planning retreat with Berea students and staff in Berea.
In addition, you and your presidents have also been emailed and mailed a packet of critical information that covers a number of special elements for the 20th Anniversary S.L.I. These include:
• Bonner Awards (for Community Partners, Alumni, and Administrators and how individuals may be nominated)
• A written reflection opportunity for your campus's President
• A request for your program to develop a poster-board display for a Networking Fair that highlights a few of your own program's best practices and innovations
Please be sure to read this packet (emailed to you by Kathleen Buttolph, new Assistant to Wayne) and know that your President is receiving a paper copy by mail.
Also, be on the lookout for a tentative agenda, being developed this weekend at the retreat. In addition, we will soon be sending out a call for workshops and reaching out to individuals who volunteer to do workshops or presentations — to do that, each school needs to complete the SLI Survey.
Here's the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BVZBPXD
Finally, you should begin booking your travel.
Resource Corner: Check out these new resources!____
Resources for Student Leaders
We have some new training/curricular resources for Bonner Congress Reps who are working to carry out their Big Idea Proposals. These include some easy-to-follow activities for student leaders that address important elements of MOTIVATING A TEAM like:
2. Valuing Each Others' Contributions
3. Growing and Learning from a Big Idea
4. Creating a Positive Work Environment
5. Having Fun!
You can pass this along to your student leaders or check them out yourself in the Big Idea Resource Center at: http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/Big+Idea+Resources+-+Motivating+a+Team
Resources for Meeting with Partners
Are you working with your partners to integrate higher-level placements, research projects, or even pilot a site-based team? We've developed some new resources for you (as staff or student leaders). These resources are designed to be simple and straightforward, with the idea that campus programs and community partners can continue to use more advanced resources (such as sample policy briefs, applications, and strategy sessions). This community partnership "Introductory Toolkit" contains:
These documents can be found on the wiki's Community Partnerships introduction. Feel free to edit them for your campus program.
Heads Up — BWBRS REMINDERS & NATIONAL REVIEWS FOR SPRING 2010
Currently most campuses have or are working to advance your positions to Spring 2010 and have students create their Spring CLAs. In addition, you should be inputting Training & Enrichment Events for spring. Keep the following important details in mind as you do this:
• Remember that there have been a few key changes to AmeriCorps prohibited activities. Most importantly, October 2009 Legislation now prohibits volunteering in any organizations (clinics, Planned Parenthood, etc.) that provide abortions or referrals to such. You can find the new list of Prohibited Activities at: http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/List-of-Prohibited-Activities-and-Organizations
• We recommend you set a final deadline for students' completion of Spring Semester CLAs (that is no later than one month into the semester). In addition, see the recommended set of BWBRS Management and Accountability Guidelines at: http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/BWBRS-Management-and-Accountability-Guide
• Bonner Foundation staff will be completing National Reviews of positions, CLAs, and Trainings again in the next few weeks. Please keep that in mind, so that these details have been advanced and/or added by the end of February. You may want to check out the guidelines for high-quality entries at: Sample Positions, CLAs, and Training Entries
Thanks!
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4) Congrats to Jonathan Jenner
Jonathan Jenner, a double major in Economics and PAGS, has been awarded a Watson fellowship, one of 40 nation-wide. Congratulations to Jonathan!!
Jonathan Jenner, Earlham College
In Search of Responsible Labor: Worker-Owned Firms and Their Communities
Argentina, Spain, Italy, India
In my project, I will examine how worker-owned firms affect social and
cultural life beyond the bounds of the workplace in their surrounding
communities. I will be looking at relationships with/in the firm, using the
lens of responsibility to understand firm-community dynamics. My project
will be centered around the question: How is responsibility understood and
expressed relationally in worker-owned firms and what does this
responsibility 'do'?
Here's a link to the whole list of Watson winners:
http://www.watsonfellowship.org/site/fellows/10_11.html
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5) The Summer Youth Initiative of Broad Street Ministry
We provide a week long mission trip experience of service learning and opportunities for authentic relationship-building with the people of Philadelphia. An effort is made to take groups to different neighborhoods in the city and discuss poverty, homelessness, hunger, and health care all grounded within a theological framework. A particular goal is to engage youth with the poor and disadvantaged who are trying to make a difference in their community through social action. Stereotypes will be broken not re-enforced. The week will end in a service of commissioning on Friday night to send students back to their own communities where faithful transformation may continue. The BSM Youth Initiative is born out of a local congregation that values worship, hospitality, community, diversity, social justice, risk, creativity and the arts.
Broad Street Ministry will be hiring 6 staff for this summer. Position begins on May 26th with a two week training and orientation to BSM and the Summer Youth Initiative. The last day of work is August 17th.
Expectations of staff:
Visit the website www.broadstreetministry.org for further explanations of the program. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2010.
Job Description
There are many parts of the day that all staff share in however there are some areas in which the staff chooses which areas they will be more heavily involved in. There is some overlap to these roles however there is also room for staff to choose roles based on their gifts and areas of interest. These are divided into two areas:
Spiritual Life Coordinators
Daily Adventure Coordinator
Broad Street Ministry will provide:
These are paid positions. The stipend for the summer is $2500.00.
Questions regarding this application should be directed to Erika Funk at erika@broadstreetministry.org or 215-735-4847
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6) Spring Break 2010 - Share your service experience.
Tis the season of Spring Break. Hopefully you are ALL enjoying the time and being safe. If you chose to take an alternate Spring Break, let us know about it by e-mailing Kathleen@bonner.org.
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Thanks to ALL! Spring is here! Hallelujah!
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The Bonner Weekly
March 8-12, 2010
1) Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement Systems
2) Correction: 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
3) Inspire
4) U.S. Forest Service and SCA To Partner on ARRA Trailwork - Hiring!
5) Whats happening on your campus?
6) Nominations for the Bonnerversary (survey change)
7) Peacework
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1) Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement Systems:
Systemic Approaches to Evaluation
Free webinar March 24, 2010 1:00-2:00 PM EST
Learn how innovative new performance measurement trends in evaluation are enabling hundreds or even thousands of nonprofit organizations to measure their performance with a common system of metrics--resulting in lower costs, greater learning, and increased effectiveness. This shift from individual to collective evaluation systems has the potential to reshape performance and impact measurement throughout the entire nonprofit sector.
FSG and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) invite you to attend a webinar about this new approach to shared measurement, with insights and examples from the organizations that are executing them. Hosted by FSG’s Mark Kramer, co-author of Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact, Mark will be joined by Marian Godfrey and Gregory Rowe from The Pew Charitable Trusts, Neville Vakharia from the Cultural Data Project, and Jennifer Blatz from Strive.
Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact, released by FSG with generous support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, highlights 20 examples of social enterprises that have developed innovative and coordinated web-based approaches to reporting performance, outcome, and impact measurements over multiple social enterprises and stakeholders. This informative webinar will share key findings from FSG’s research, supplemented by case studies and additional resources to promote further learning and discussion, and allow audience members to participate with questions or comments for the panelists. The Breakthroughs Report will also be presented in a live panel discussion at GEO’s national 2010 conference in April. For more information on the GEO conference or membership, or to register for the conference, please click here:
http://www.fsg-impact.org/ideas/item/breakthroughs_in_measurement_webinar.html
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2) Correction: 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
We missed a handful of schools in our recent announcement of schools that received recognition in the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
The full, corrected list can be found here:
http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/2009-President%27s-Higher-Education-Community-Service-Honor-Roll
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3) INSPIRE 2010
Still Time to Register!!
Don't forget to sign up your workshop!!!
INSPIRE 2010
"Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly"
March 26-28th
Siena College
Inspire others today!! Join us for an incredible conference!!
REGISTER TODAY:
Siena College is partnering with the Bonner Foundation of Princeton, NJ and Middlesex County College's Democracy House to put together a weekend (March 26th-28th) celebrating 20 years of academic community engagement, providing access to education and the opportunity to serve. This will be an unforgettable event with attendees ranging from over 40 colleges and universities around the region. Workshop tracks include: Innovation, Best Practice, Strategic Social Justice, Access to Education, Planning/Evaluation Methods, and AmeriCorps VISTA/Administrators. Don't miss this opportunity to network, engage and partner with other individuals passionate about leaving a legacy of service.
The cost is only $75.00 which includes three days of food, fun, and a learning experience of a lifetime. Scholarships are available so don't let this great opportunity pass you by.
Registering is simple, just go online to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/98445 and sign up today.
CALL FOR WORKSHOPS
LEAD A WORKSHOP
Inspire 2010: "Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly" is around the corner. By proposing a workshop, you are stepping up and working to inspire others who share your passion for civic engagement, academic community engagement and a commitment to being change agents of our time!! INSPIRE 2010 will be divided into six stellar workshop tracks!! We will be accepting eight to ten workshops per block. Each workshop will be about an hour and fifteen minutes.
Workshop tracks include: Innovation, Best Practice, Strategic Social Justice, Access to Education, Planning/Evaluation Methods, and AmeriCorps.
Help Lead the Movement with Your Workshop Today!!!! DEADLINE: MARCH 1st.
Making A proposal is EASY, just click on the link below and follow the simple steps
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DFWLSN6
Best wishes!!
The Inspire Conference Team
For more information visit bonner.org
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4) U.S. Forest Service and SCA To Partner on ARRA Trailwork - Hiring!
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests
Forest Supervisor’s Office (Forest Headquarters)
5162 Valleypointe Parkway
Roanoke, VA 24019
(540) 265-5100
Release # 10-024
Contact: Pete Irvine, Trails & Wilderness Program Mgr. (540) 265-5219
February 8, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Forest Service and SCA To Partner on ARRA Trailwork
National Forest Trails To Benefit from Federal Stimulus Funding
(Roanoke, VA) -- The U.S. Forest Service and the Student Conservation Association (SCA) will partner to improve numerous trails on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). SCA is currently recruiting to fill nine project leader positions and 37 trail team member positions for seven SCA trail teams. During the summer and fall of 2010, these teams will improve up to 175 miles of national forest trails in Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Highland, Montgomery, Roanoke and Smyth Counties.
This project will provide work opportunities through SCA, the country’s leading conservation service organization. SCA partners with public land managers to build conservation leaders and engage young adults in hands-on environmental stewardship. Trail teams live and work together in the backcountry. Team members receive a living allowance, food, and housing; while learning trail skills, outdoor leadership, wilderness first aid, and Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.
“We welcome this opportunity to work with SCA to provide jobs and accomplish important natural resource work,” said Henry Hickerson, Acting Forest Supervisor. “This work would not be possible without federal stimulus funding.” Hikers, backpackers, horse riders, bicyclists, and motorized recreation enthusiasts enjoy more than 2,100 miles of trails on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
Information sheets for the SCA project leader and trail team member positions are available from local U.S. Forest Service offices. Detailed information and applications are available at the SCA website, www.thesca.org. Additional information about ARRA is at www.recovery.gov, and www.fs.fed.us/recovery/.
-USFS-
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5) Whats happening on your campus?
What Bonner events, programs or workshops do you have going on your campuses this month? We would like to highlight some of the cool things happening with your Bonner program in our monthly Congress Newsletter. Please email Michael Richardson mrichardson@bonner.org with this information.
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6) Nominations for Bonnerversary Awards
The link has changed. Please click below to nominate Bonner Partners and Alumni. THANKS!
Current Bonner Network Campus Surveys
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2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Announced
From the website: "The Corporation for National and Community Service announces the annual Honor Roll award recipients, recognizing more than 700 colleges and universities for exemplary, innovative, and effective community service programs. The Corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses."