By Jorge Campos |Staff Writer|
CSUSB’s community service earned President’s Honor Roll status and received national recognition for the eighth year in a row.
In 2006, the President of the United States started recognizing higher institutions who provide community service that improves the health, education and surroundings of the community.
The Honor Roll’s Presidential Award is the highest federal recognition an institute can receive for their commitment to serving the community, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
“The CSUSB volunteers have spent over 82,000 hours of community service,” said CSUSB’s Director of Community Engagement Diane Podolske.
CSUSB offered over 145 learning course sections, taught by 91 faculty members, with nearly 2,000 service learning students addressing community needs, work-study programs in the community of San Bernardino.
“From 2013-2014, more than 1,370 CSUSB students participated in the university’s 145 course selections that offered a service learning component,” said Podolske.
CSUSB also participates in more than 500 partnerships with local nonprofits, school districts and government organizations.
Faculty takes part in community service by developing opportunities for community engagement including service learning fellowships and community-based research grants.
Marketing students who volunteer to contribute to the community by offering their nonprofit school assignments to companies without financial resources.
“Students obtain the practice and experience they need and companies benefit from this work,” said Podolske.
“We are doing good work, and while we don’t do service to receive award, we have been recognized nationally for the efforts,” said Podolske.
“CSUSB also works together with elementary schools with programs such as America Reads and America Counts, which with the help of CSUSB tutoring elementary students will improve their English and Math skills,” said Podolske.
In response to a Coyote Chronicle opinions article, CSUSB’s Office of Community and Engagement started a food pantry for students.
A major concern of the CSUSB Office of Community Engagement was the fact that CSUSB had a significant number of students in terrible financial situations.
On Nov. 10, 2014 the article “Homeless Students Need Accessible Resources” in the Coyote Chronicle, stated that a few students attending CSUSB were in fact homeless and were in need of accessible resources. “Our campus should help by providing adequate resources for those in need,” stated in the article.
As of January 28, 2015, the Office of Community Engagement has officially started the Delivering Emergency Nourishment or “The DEN” said Podolske. “The Den” food pantry, is located in the CSUSB’s Faculty Office Building, room 227.
All 23 CSU’s have a community engagement office which come together to find ways to help the local community and have become the largest service learning system of education in the world. Within the 23 CSU’s there were a total of 15 university campuses who received the President’s Honor Roll.
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