Earlham College | News from Public Affairs

Earlham students during a spring break service trip to Louisiana in March 2006.

Earlham students assigned to a "gutting crew" don protective clothing and respirators before entering another Hurricane Katrina-wrecked structure during a spring break service trip to Louisiana last March. Roughly three-dozen students, faculty and staff members have been involved in direct recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region since Katrina came ashore in August 2005. Many more have helped to collect money, food, clothing and other relief supplies for persons and families impacted by the tragedy.

RICHMOND, Ind. — The humanitarian efforts of many Earlham students, faculty and staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have earned the College a place on the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

By its "extraordinary" volunteer service in the Gulf Coast region after the devastating August 2005 storm, Earlham "has set a strong example for college-level civic engagement," says Stephen Goldsmith, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency charged with helping foster a culture of volunteering and service in America.

Many people and communities in the disaster area have seen their situations improved because Earlham and its students "identified some of society's most pressing needs and got involved," Goldsmith says.

Some three dozen Earlham students have participated in direct relief efforts along the Gulf Coast in the 14 months since Category-5 Katrina came ashore, reports Jana Schroeder, Bonner Scholars program coordinator and one of the organizers of a spring break service trip to Louisiana last March in which 22 students and four faculty members took part.

Other students in small groups also have traveled to the region during alternate breaks in the academic schedule, says Schroeder, largely lending their strong backs, arms and legs to neighborhood cleanup programs continuing to deal with the millions of tons of debris left in Katrina's wake. Scores more have helped raise money or collect food, clothing and other relief supplies for persons and families displaced by the greatest natural disaster in U.S. history.

The honor roll awards — presented Oct. 17 in Chicago — coincide with the release by the CNCS of a comprehensive study showing a 20 percent increase in college student civic involvement since 2002, though in the eyes of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Earlham students have long outpaced their peers nationally when it comes to community service. According to the latest data from the 2006 survey, 81 percent of Earlham seniors reported having participated in community service or volunteer programs while less than 60 percent of fourth-year students elsewhere could say the same.

Also as tribute to the College's long tradition of community concern and action, Earlham is one of only 27 select U.S. colleges receiving Bonner Foundation scholarship funds for some students in exchange for their involvement in service.

However, only 10 of the 22 students on last spring's service trip to the Gulf region were Bonner Scholars, says Schroeder.

"And that's what I think is especially great about this award," she adds. "It recognizes that as a whole, the campus has a strong commitment to service. That it's more than just the Bonners (there are a total of 60 on campus at a time). This really highlights Earlham's overall engagement."

Each year the College's roughly 1,200 students contribute more than 44,000 hours of volunteer service in the Richmond/Wayne County community — and, occasionally, places like hurricane-scarred Louisiana.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is co-sponsored by the CNCS, the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), USA freedom Corps and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, in cooperation with Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 1,000 college and university presidents and their institutions.

Contact:
Kevin Burke, director of media relations
765/983-1323 — E-Mail Kevin