Union has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service to the local community.
The award was announced in Washington, D.C. today by the Corporation for National and Community Service during the annual conference of the American Council on Education.
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors, including 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.
In 2007-08, 762 Union students participated in a range of community service projects, representing more than 7,700 hours of service. Volunteers at the Kenney Community Center tutored and read to local children, acted as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and participated in the state Volunteer Income Tax Assistant Program (VITA). Since its launch in 2005, the VITA program at Union has secured some $1.4 million in cumulative tax refunds for local residents.
Also, the entire campus community devoted hundreds of hours of volunteer time to renovate a home the College donated to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity for a Schenectady couple and their five children. For the 13th straight year, students, faculty and staff spruced up the city during John Calvin Toll Community Service Day. In addition, all sororities and fraternities do community service projects, as do athletic teams, many Theme Houses and clubs.
“Our students who give back to this community and to the community at large don't ask to be recognized; instead, they see that their work changes lives for the better, which is inspiring,” said Angela Tatem, Kenney Center director. “This honor may motivate even more people to recognize the value of connecting with the community in a more personal way, allowing Union to fully embrace civic commitment and a sense of responsibility.”
The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, federal agency, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Union is one of nine schools in New York state and 83 schools nationwide named to the Honor Roll with Distinction. A full list of all schools recognized is available at www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.