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Big Idea Title: Bonner Week

Name of Congress Representatives: Tammy Hsu & Shamika Bowell

What:  As a fairly new program, we decided that our Big Idea should continue to spread awareness about the Rutgers Bonner Leader Program’s presence on campus.  However, as a Bonner collective at Rutgers, we propose a different approach to spread the Bonner name.  We plan to organize a large scale event to promote awareness of the program, and to educate the Rutgers campus and New Brunswick community on social issues and actively promote service as a movement.  The Rutgers Bonner Leader Program’s Big Idea is to create the “Bonner Week”, composed of 5 days and 5 events on campus where the Rutgers community and the New Brunswick community will come together for service and education.

Why: The Rutgers Bonner Leader Program identifies a need for the Rutgers community to be more actively involved with the New Brunswick community and vice versa.  Therefore, our group has decided on using the Bonner Week to educate the Rutgers campus on the social issues that our Bonner collective has been focusing on; as well as promoting the students on campus to be involved in community service.  Not only does this event promote civic engagement, it also expands the awareness of Bonners throughout the New Brunswick community and the students at Rutgers, aiding in recruitment for the next year.

How: The implementation of the Big Idea of “Bonner Week” will require a great deal of resources and teamwork. The Rutgers Bonner Leader Program will be collaborating with other service organizations on campus in order to facilitate the operation of the event. We also plan to organize events where other Bonner Schools would be welcome to attend as participants to serve alongside the Rutgers Bonners. Every Bonner will be actively contributing resources through their connections with various community partners and or student organizations on campus.

• Skills: Some skills that are necessary for success are networking skills, budgeting skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and dedication to the program.
• Leadership: All Rutgers Bonners will be actively taking a role in the implementation of “Bonner Week” whether it is through contributing ideas, making connections or through direct service.  They will be the key resources for this event.
• Congress: The Congress experience will be a very useful resource for planning the event because it will offer our Congress Representatives different perspectives based on suggestions and ideas presented by other schools around the nation.  The Congress experience will also provide us with a large network and a great deal of resources we can put to use at Rutgers.
• Timeline:
• Fall: Plan the blueprint of the event itself such as the events to have, where to host them, and what resources we have in arms reach right now through our Bonners. Finalize events and contact community partners and student organizations.  Book venues and delegate specific tasks to Bonners.
• Winter: Figure out event details such as available speakers etc.  Network and build partnerships with other student organizations and community partners.  Work on back up plans such as rain dates.
• Spring: Finalize event details such as materials needed, people attending, and media coverage.  Send invitations to other Bonner schools in the area for attendance.  Hold the event itself.  Record results of the event.  Reflect on the event as group.