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WAVE members participating in the 2009 WIU Homecoming Parade.
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A WAVE member helps at the McDonough County Animal Shelter.
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WIU students participating in Make A Difference Day (10/24/09) at the Samaritan Well Home in Macomb.
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WIU Named to Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service

February 26, 2010

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MACOMB, IL – For the second consecutive year, Western Illinois University has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its exemplary service efforts.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the Community Service Honor Roll, which was established in 2006, is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors, including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

This past year, Western's Volunteer Services and many other campus-based organizations and departments sponsored numerous activities, including hosting Make A Difference Day; playing Big Pink Volleyball, a breast cancer research fundraiser; hosting the annual Angel Tree program; organizing fundraising efforts for Haiti following the recent earthquake; tutoring and mentoring area elementary school children; participating in Western's annual We Care campus clean-up; and more.

"Volunteer activities and service learning are vital components of the higher education experience. These activities enhance our students' experiences and provide much needed assistantance within our communities," said WIU President Al Goldfarb. "The core value of social responsibility should stay with our students long after they graduate. It's an honor that Western was recognized for the second consecutive year for our community service efforts. I'd like to congratulate Mary Kubasak, assistant director of student activities-volunteer services, and our many dedicated faculty and staff for ensuring our students have many service activities in which to make a difference."

In addition to special events and programming, members of Western's All Volunteer Effort (WAVE), coordinated through Volunteer Services, participated each week in such activities as volunteering at the Elms and Countryview nursing homes, the Samaritan Well and Horn Field Campus; working at the McDonough County Animal Shelter; and serving as YMCA Reading Buddies. WAVE members also participated in special events such as Make A Difference Day, the International Bazaar, Relay For Life and Volunteer Week.

"Congratulations to Western Illinois University and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CNCS CEO. "Our nation's students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service."

The Honor Roll is a program of the CNCS, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

For more information on Volunteer Services at WIU, contact Kubasak at (309) 298-3232 or visit student.services.wiu.edu/osa/volunteer. See the complete honor roll listing at learnandserve.gov/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp.


Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing