ADRIAN COLLEGE AND CAMBIOS VIE FOR $10,000 CARTER AWARD posted 5/23/05

A partnership between Adrian College and Cambios, Inc. is one of four finalists for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership for Campus-Community Collaboration.

Rosalynn Carter, former first lady, will announce the winner of the $10,000 award on June 18 at the annual Governor’s Service Awards Dinner at the Dearborn Hyatt.

The award recognizes college campuses and community organizations that work together in exceptional ways to improve people’s lives and teach college students the importance of community service. This is the first time it has been awarded in Michigan since it was created at Georgia State University in 2000.

The mission of Cambios is to celebrate diversity and eliminate all forms of discrimination by providing programs and resources to the community. The goal of the partnership with Adrian College is to assist with the implementation of R.E.A.D. (Reading to End All Discrimination), a program that takes volunteer readers into elementary classrooms to read and discuss multicultural literature.

A 2003 study by Adrian College faculty found that benefits of R.E.A.D. to children included improved sense of self identity, less frequent discriminatory behaviors, and greater appreciation of differences, especially language differences.

After hearing “Pepita Talks Twice,” a third grade student told his volunteer reader, “My dad says that you can’t trust Mexicans, but the ones in your stories seem nice. I wish I knew some.”

Cambios has donated 54 books to each elementary school in the county, a total of 1,350 books with a retail value of over $20,000. Of school districts in the county, 85 percent use R.E.A.D. in some capacity. In addition to other volunteers, over 50 Adrian College students and staff have served as readers.

“I cannot even begin to tell you how many questions this class has helped me answer, how it has opened my eyes and especially how it is helping me see solutions,” one Adrian College student said. “I am so excited to know how to talk about the problems and how to think about these issues from multiple perspectives.”

The Cambios office is located on the Adrian campus. (more) Sociology classes have worked with Cambios, and other faculty and staff members support the program through volunteerism or as board members.

Cambios was one of five nominees for the Exemplary Community Service Program Award at the 2004 Governor’s Service Awards. (more)

The other finalists for the award are Aquinas College and the Baxter Wholistic Health Clinic (childhood lead poisoning); Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo Public Schools (after-school tutoring program); and the University of Michigan and various partners (established the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center).

“The four finalists have exceptional programs,” said David Campbell, president of the McGregor Fund and member of the judging panel. “All 22 applications were impressive, but these four stood out above the others.

Michigan Campus Compact, an organization dedicated to promoting civic-mindedness in college students, is hosting the award in this state.

For more on the Carter Award, go to www.micampuscompact.org or www.cambios.org.