In recognition of its efforts to serve its community, AU was named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for General Community Service Oct. 17, the 20th anniversary of the Campus Compact.
The Campus Compact is "a national coalition of more than 1,000 college and university presidents - representing some 5 million students - dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education," according to the Campus Compact Web site. While the award does not carry any financial incentives, it helps to promote AU's community service work.
One of 99 other schools selected from a pool of 500 applicants for the Honor Roll, AU promotes a motto of "ideas into action, action into service."
"AU is known for its emphasis on community service and public service," said Marcy Fink Campos, director of the Community Service Center. "I think a lot of students that come to this university are attracted by that."
Among the programs outlined on the Honor Roll application were Freshman Service Experience, D.C. Reads, Facilitating Leadership in Youth, Alternative Break, the Eagle Endowment for Public and Community Service and the Service Learning program.
The FSE program brings first-semester freshmen to campus a week before classes start and sends them into D.C. to volunteer for various organizations and get acquainted with the city.
According to Campos, 510 students were involved in FSE this year at 46 sites and completed about 13,000 hours of service. About 80 upperclassmen signed up to be group leaders, she said.
Krista Simmons, a freshman in the School of International Service, participated in FSE by weeding at the monuments with the National Park Service.
"It was an amazing opportunity to feel like a part of D.C. and get to know kids from AU at the same time," she said.
Participation in the Alternative Break Program, which sends students around the nation and the world to work on issues of social justice, has vastly increased in recent years, according to Campos.
Audrey Pernik, a senior in the School of Communication who is co-leading the alternative spring break trip "Chicago: Empowering Urban Youth," said the university has been extremely helpful in planning for the trip.
"The faculty and staff are so experienced and knowledgeable about their field," she said. "They are also so ready to put you in contact with other resources who can be of help, too."
Pernik's group will be traveling to Chicago to help kids paint a mural about life in the inner city.
"We hope that this will enable the kids with whom we will be working to realize their own intrinsic value through art," Pernik said.
AU's Community Service Learning Program is another program that allows students to get an extra credit hour with teacher permission by performing 40 hours of service in an area related to the course material, Campos said. This year, roughly 45 students and 17 faculty members are participating in the program.
"I think students, and maybe it's more this generation, particularly respond to hands-on learning," Campos said. "Many campuses are located in cities dealing with many problems."
Students in the program volunteer with area non-profits including Big Brother Big Sister, Central American Resource Center and the Community Council for the Homeless.
The Honor Roll for Community Service, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps and the Presidential Council on Service and Civic Participation, was presented in cooperation with Campus Compact.
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides grants for service learning programs and has made volunteering on college campuses an important part of its five-year strategic plan. According to their recent study on community service among students, student volunteering increased approximately 20 percent between 2002 and 2005, and students are much more likely to volunteer than their peers who do not attend college.
AU's recognition for community service comes when recent studies by the Current Population Survey, the Federal Corporation for National and Community Service and several corporations located throughout the United States indicate an increase of 20 percent in community service involvement among college students.
Community Service Opportunities
The AU Community Service Center offers students many opportunities to participate in community service throughout the school year. Check out different service opportunities at AU on the Community Service Center's Web site at www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer.
Upcoming volunteer opportunities:
Nov. 4 - America's Walk for Diabetes
Volunteer by providing directions for participants, getting signatures for petitions and assisting with event logistics. The walk benefits diabetes research, information and advancements. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact Stephanie Brosnahan at sbrosnahan@diabetes.org or at (202) 331-8303 extension 4533.
Nov. 15 - Applications due for 2007 Alternative Spring Break trips
Sign up to go to Mississippi, Chicago, San Francisco, South Dakota, D.C. or Venezuela to work for social change. Download applications at http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/altbreak/currenttrips.html.
Nov. 18 - APO Service Day
Participate in APO's 24 hours of service. E-mail service@auapo.org for more information.
Nov. 18 - 19th Annual Homeless Walkathon
Walk to support the homeless and Jobs Have Priority Inc. Register online at www.helpthehomelessdc.org.
