Widener Receives 14 AmeriCorps Educational Awards for Students to Provide Community Service

Widener University was recently awarded 14 education awards from AmeriCorps and PennSERVE, the Governor's Office on Citizen Service, that will help students provide vital service to the community and receive funding to help pay for college.

AmeriCorps awarded Widener six Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania and eight Pennsylvania Campus Compact Community Fellows education awards for the 2012-13 academic year.

Students in the Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania program and the Pennsylvania Campus Compact Community Fellows Program complete 300 hours of service in Chester, Pa during the year and receive approximately a $1,100 education award from the Corporation for National and Community Service. They also receive weekly leadership training from the Widener University Office of Civic Engagement, help recruit, train, and retain additional Widener student volunteers, and serve as the primary liaison to the Chester community partners.

Scholarship recipients will serve as volunteer coordinators in the Widener Cares after-school tutoring program, Big Brothers/Big Impact male mentoring program at Stetser Elementary School, and the College Access Center of Delaware County. They will also spearhead a new weekly program with senior citizens in the rehabilitation center at Taylor Hospital. Other Widener AmeriCorps students will help coordinate and recruit volunteers at various ongoing service programs including Chester Upland Soccer for Success, Make a Difference Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Food Day, and other weekly and monthly community partnerships in the city of Chester.

AmeriCorps, a program of the federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service, supports more than 50,000 people each year who make significant service commitments.

"Civic engagement is a vital part of the Widener University mission," said Elizabeth Housholder, assistant dean for civic engagement at Widener. "Through the Scholars in Service and the Community Fellows programs, students and the communities they serve both win."

Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, leadership development, and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener is comprised of eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences and professional and pre-professional curricula leading to associate's, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. The university's campuses in Chester, Exton, and Harrisburg, PA, and Wilmington, DE, serve approximately 6,500 students. Visit the university's website, www.widener.edu, for more information.

 

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