Stonehill Receives National Recognition for Community Service
February 26, 2010
For the fourth straight year, Stonehill College has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
"Congratulations to Stonehill and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Our nation's students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service."
"Stonehill's commitment to service permeates the campus and the student body. The students take seriously the Mission of the College as they engage in service through their coursework and co-curricular activities, living lives that make a difference as they strive to 'create a more just and compassionate world,' " said Campus Minister Maura Proulx Carpinello.
Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the 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.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice.
The Corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.
Each year, nearly 1,400 Stonehill students participate in community service outreach. In 2008-09, over 600 students participated in service through Into the Streets, contributing over 13,000 hours to the community. ITS is Stonehill's largest student-run organization and in May, it received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Children's Museum in Easton.
The Campus Ministry Alternative Spring Break Program H.O.P.E. is another popular service outreach program where students complete a week of service during spring break. In the coming weeks students will be traveling to New Orleans, Central Florida, Tennessee, New York, California, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru.
In the fall, Stonehill launched its new Office of Community-Based Learning in its Academic Division. The Office of CBL focuses on developing campus and community capacity for partnerships that simultaneously enhance student learning and address community needs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
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