CLU honored as community-service leader

University's service learning, volunteering highlighted

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Kirsten Wilson moves a log during the winter service trip to tornado-ravaged Alabama.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., Calif. – June 4, 2013) For the third year in a row, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has honored California Lutheran University as a leader in volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.

CLU was named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for engaging students, faculty and staff in meaningful service. Selection criteria included the scope and innovation of service projects, integration of service learning into the curriculum, commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable impact on communities.

About 2,400 CLU students completed a total of 45,000 community service hours in the 2011-2012 year.

Faculty members from all disciplines provide service-learning opportunities as part of CLU’s effort to guide students to find their vocations. Nearly 600 students engaged in academic service-learning projects during the year. The projects included finding solutions to problems faced by immigrant communities in Los Angeles, tending a garden to feed the homeless, and working with faculty members to counsel nearly 1,000 low-income residents through Community Counseling Services.

Volunteers recruited through CLU’s Community Service Center contributed more than 11,000 service hours through 28 programs. Additionally, 20 volunteers traveled to Alabama and the Dominican Republic during academic breaks to assist with tornado recovery and healthcare.

The CNCS launched the Honor Roll in 2006 and oversees it in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, the American Council on Education and Campus Compact. The CNCS is a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Social Innovation Fund programs. It also leads President Barack Obama’s national call-to-service initiative, United We Serve.

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