About 700 LC students contributed nearly 52,000 hours of community service in 2009-10 to earn University of Lynchburg a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2010.
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| Corey Galbreath ’12 works with her math buddy. |
LC was recognized for its service to the Greater Lynchburg community and beyond. General community service projects included:
- Wading In, a week-long series of events led by Dr. Todd Olsen to raise awareness about water crises throughout the world and to raise funds for projects in Uganda and Haiti;
- Dr. Merrill Tolbert’s special education service learning course, which helped with Special Olympics and the Challenged Sports Exchange;
- Solidarity Sleepers, who raised awareness and funds for the homeless.
Special focus area projects included:
- “Math Buddies” at a local elementary school;
- Smith Mountain Lake Good Neighbors, a summer feeding program and day camp for disadvantaged students;
- Young Champions, an alternative education program for inner city students.
Volunteer service was even more impressive in the past school year, when 700 students contributed 71,064 hours of community service and raised $91,700 for a variety of charities, ranging from $26,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life to $500 for Jubilee Family Development Center in Lynchburg.
“Community service allows students to go out into the community and gain real-life experience and an understanding of the challenges in their community,” said Chris Gibbons, director of Office of Community Involvement, LC’s volunteer program. “It also helps ignite their own passion for service.”
LC, which was also on the honor roll in 2006, 2008, and 2009, was one of 11 colleges and universities in Virginia to make the list. In addition, Emory & Henry College received one of six presidential awards for general community service, while The College of William and Mary, May Baldwin College, and Washington and Lee University made the presidential honor roll with distinction. Check the complete Honor Roll.
The Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognized 641 colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs, and is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
Nationwide in 2009, 3.2 million college students dedicated more than 307 million hours of service to communities across the country, service valued at more than $6.4 billion.
For more information, contact Chris Gibbons, director of Office of Community Involvement, LC’s volunteer program, at 434.544.8640.
