Fredonia is one of just four SUNY campuses to be named "with Distinction" to the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which recognizes colleges and universities who achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve and show a clear commitment to community service and service learning.
The university joined Cortland, Geneseo and Oswego on the Honor Roll with distinction, while the following other SUNY campuses were also recognized: University at Albany, Alfred State, Binghamton University, SUNY Buffalo State, Cobleskill, Delhi, Downstate Medical University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, Morrisville, Old Westbury, Onondaga Community College, Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Stony Brook University.
Joyce Harvard Smith, coordinator of Volunteer and Community Services at Fredonia, noted that student volunteers have provided much-needed service and resources to the economically depressed areas of Chautauqua County.
During the past year, individual students and groups, along with athletic teams, performed over 20,000 hours of volunteer service. Ms. Smith added that the impact of student volunteers in the local community has been very significant.
Examples of community service activities include Operation Breakfast Rescue, a breakfast food donation drive to benefit the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry’s Friendly Kitchen. Student volunteers collected over 400 pounds of breakfast food items to assist impoverished families in the local community. Colleges Against Cancer raised over $30,000 dollars in its Relay for Life campaign which benefited the American Cancer Society. Over 400 volunteers including students, faculty, staff and administrators participated in the event. The Beach Sweep is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup campaign. Approximately 70 volunteers, including students, faculty and community members participated in the most recent event, and over 297 pounds of debris was collected.
Smith added, “Our students have shown care and compassion to those who were in the greatest need. I am very proud of our student volunteers who have made such a difference in the lives of others.”
Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community challenges. CNCS, the federal agency for volunteering and service, has administered the award since 2006 in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education, Campus Compact and the Interfaith Youth Core.
