Adrian College Gives Back posted 5/15/08
Students, faculty and staff spend numerous hours volunteering in community

ADRIAN, Mich. - The Adrian College community volunteers for numerous hours each school year. Students, faculty and staff make a significant difference each semester in Lenawee County and beyond.

Students alone completed 3,000 hours of community service in the 2007-2008 school year. Dr. Agnes Caldwell is the Self Study Coordinator at Adrian College. The research was conducted during the course of the self study where it was found that many Adrian College students, faculty and staff give their time to the community.

Based on the information gathered, more than half of the College student body commits to community service. The total service hours by the students were through the following events: Dance Marathon, Rake 'N Run, Community Plunge, Community Outreach Week, RLC and the Hope Community Center.

“Over 750 students participated in these events or 57% of the student body,” says Dr. Agnes Caldwell, Self Study Coordinator at Adrian College. “According to the Michigan Nonprofit Association, this is slightly above the average volunteer rate of 18-24 year olds in the state of Michigan and significantly higher of all adult volunteer rates in Michigan at 44%.”

These 3,000 hours translate into an economic contribution of $57,870 according to Caldwell.

Six Greek organizations at the College also contributed an additional 2,819 volunteer hours to various local and state wide organizations. The men's fraternity, Theta Chi, led the way contributing over 600 hours in 16 organizations including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Graze to Raise, Salvation Army bell ringing and Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.

Student athletes also put in many hours.

“Student athletes from 12 sports worked with local youth in such programs as ‘Learn to Skate’ by the women's ice hockey and synchronized skating teams and ‘Hockey Day in Michigan’ with the men's ice hockey team,” says Caldwell.

Additionally, volleyball, women's basketball, and the men's hockey teams worked in Adrian neighborhoods as part of "Trick and Treat Patrol." Of particular note was the Adrian College Kids Field Day organized by a track and field student with the Lenawee County YMCA with over 150 youth participating. The Bulldog athletes who supported this event include track and field, women's volleyball, tennis, football and men's soccer. Countless athletes also work as coaches in athletic clubs both in Adrian and the surrounding counties.

The faculty and staff also contribute to numerous hours of community service. Members of the President’s senior staff led the way with 88% engaging in volunteerism. At least 30% of faculty and 25% of staff also engage in volunteer work outside their job responsibilities at the College. They donate their time at numerous local schools, churches and hospices, the Hope Community Center, 4-H (Michigan; Ohio), and Girl Scouts of America.

Adrian College also contributes to the community through departmental service learning and experiential learning. In 1999, members of Student Life and the faculty started an initiative to formalize service learning on campus. According to Dr. Caldwell, the grassroots committee of students, faculty and Student Life staff met to: define service learning vs. internships vs. volunteerism, develop new service learning opportunities for campus and community, provide a thank you to those community members with a luncheon for their support of service learning and discuss additional faculty development opportunities.

The result of this work has yielded the following outcomes: approximately 10% of students from 2001-2007 participated in academic service learning which included donating 8,358 hours from 15 courses, and this contributed an estimated $107,316.72 to the local community. Departmental Service Learning includes such departments as sociology/criminal justice, English, biology, Spanish, and business administration.

Further evidence of Adrian College’s commitment to the community is found in the results of the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The results show that Adrian College scores in the top 10% of all colleges and universities in the nation by offering enriching educational experiences, of which include academic service learning, volunteerism, and community work.

“The College is very proud of our students and faculty and staff and the time they spend volunteering in the local communities”, says Caldwell.

For more information on volunteering nationwide, visit www.independentsector.org, www.campuscompact.org and www.nationalservice.gov.