Newberry College Values Based Learning Program Awarded $1,000 To Lead A Service-Learning Campaign For Global Youth Service Day
By Christina Wessell
State Farm Companies Foundation Supports Service-Learning Projects in South Carolina] and Across America Newberry, SC– March 17, 2008 – The Newberry College Values Based Learning Program in Newberry, SC has received a $1,000 award to launch a service-learning project for Global Youth Service Day on April 25, 26 and 27, 2008.  The Newberry College Values Based Learning Program is one of 100 State Farm® Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award winners chosen by Youth Service America and funded by State Farm Companies Foundation. The Newberry College Values Based Learning Program will work with local children to implement a unique service-learning project.  The project, supervised by Newberry College students, will engage youth living in Grant Homes, a local low-income housing complex, in a study of needs in their immediate community, a plan to address these needs, and implementation of the plan.  The $1,000 grant will be used to fund the plan, including a culminating event on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) in late April.  The unique feature of the grant is that the service-learning taking place is two-fold.  Students at Newberry College who are taking a course with a service component will be engaging the youth at Grant Homes in a service-learning project that will address issues in their own community.  The grant will help spread the idea and practice of service-learning to others and be a great learning and service experience for the college students and the Grant Homes’ youth. The Service-Learning Grant was written by Shari Trotter, president of ECHO (Newberry College’s service group); Bryan Wrigley, Grant Homes lead tutor; and Joe McDonald and Alison Kunard, of the VBLP, with assistance from Michelle Hardy, Newberry College’s Corporate and Foundation Relations Director.   “This is a very exciting opportunity for our college students to lead by example and empower the children of Grant Homes with knowledge and skills to improve the lives of people around them” said Joe McDonald, VBLP Director. “The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant winners demonstrate unprecedented global caring and initiative, showing the world that young people can be leaders today, not in some distant tomorrow,” says Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. “By combining the dynamics of leadership, service and learning, the grant recipients build some of the most valuable skills— academic achievement and workforce readiness.” "State Farm is proud to partner with Youth Service America.  As our partnership has grown so has our respect for YSA’s work. Through its strong leadership, young people around the world are experiencing fundamental necessities of democracy - the ability to serve and give back to their community - while gaining academic and workplace readiness skills that are valued by State Farm. We share with YSA the common belief that our young people are not tomorrow's leaders, they are leaders today,” says Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO, State Farm   Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world. Global Youth Service Day is a year-round effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement. The initiative launches new service organizations, policy changes, and sustainable service programs to create a culture of engaged youth. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor. More than 120 national partners and 75 lead agencies throughout the United States organize campaigns. Overseas, national lead agencies in more than 100 countries participate. Youth Service America is a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries and is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. For more information: www.YSA.org. State Farm® insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 75 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.7 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®. # # # MEDIA CONTACT:    Dr. Joe McDonald                    Values Based Learning Program, Newberry College                                                    803-321-5215                joseph.mcdonald at newberry.edu
Tag | Email | Rate It! | Print

Comments Currently, there are no comments. Be the first to post one! Post Comment Return