More than 72,000 hours of student community service earn presidential Honor Roll designation

Published: May 29 2008

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The University of Florida was recently named as a 2007 Honor Roll member of the President’s Higher Education Community Service program. This is the first year that UF has applied for the national award.

UF’s award application highlighted that more than 72,000 hours of community service were performed by some 12,435 students. Details of four specific programs were listed on the application. The first program, Florida Alternative Breaks, offered 14 spring break trips, two winter break trips and three summer trips where students were engaged in social work, such as disaster relief, HIV and AIDS outreach and environmental cleanup. Another program, Project Mentoring Alliance: Students and Communities Outreaching Together (MASCOT) allowed student volunteers to assist with motivating elementary school children in the Gainesville area. A third program, Engineers Without Borders (EWB), provided student partnership with international communities for the implementation of sustainable engineering solutions in developing countries. Recurso, the fourth program listed on the award application, is a non-profit service organization that strives to raise awareness and provide aid for issues such as global development, health care, and poverty alleviation in developing countries of Latin America and Africa.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. This recognition program is designed to increase public awareness of the contributions that college students are making within their local communities and across the country through volunteer service. The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Corps, and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development.

For more information on the Honor Roll program and to view a full list of award winners, visit www.learnandserve.gov/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp

Credits

Contact
Tracey Reeves, traceyr@dso.ufl.edu

Category:Announcements, Seen & Heard, Top Stories