Elon's tradition of service to the community will be strengthened by the Community Partnership Initiative, a program made possible through a grant from the Charles Frueauff Foundation of Little Rock, Ark. Details...
The Kernodle Center for Service Learning has received a $15,000 grant from the Frueauff Foundation to support the initiative, which will promote substantive interactions between students, faculty, staff and local agencies that provide services to the community.
The Community Partnership Initiative is divided into two main components. The first will allow Kernodle Center staff to select and train students to work with local agencies that have a high volume of Elon student volunteers but lack the staff and resources to coordinate their efforts. The student coordinators will work on site at a designated agency and manage student volunteer coordination, training, scheduling and communication with the Kernodle Center. This innovative program will help agencies utilize more student volunteers and provide a valuable opportunity for student coordinators to develop leadership skills while working with an agency.
The second component will award community initiative grants to teams of faculty, students, and community agencies to launch collaborative projects. Grants will support the development of new programs, increase the effectiveness of current programs, provide opportunities for innovative research and assessment that address the root causes of problems such as homelessness and domestic violence, and support community groups in strategic planning and problem–solving.
A committee of students, faculty and staff will design an application and selection process for both components. Proposals for funding will be accepted in October, and awards will be made in January 2006. Both components of the program will be under way in February 2006.
The Frueauff Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations in the areas of higher education, social services, health and hospitals. New York attorney Charles Frueauff established the foundation through his estate in 1950.