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March 11, 2013 – Allegheny College has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

Allegheny’s community service efforts are coordinated by the Office of Community Service and Service-Learning, which partners with local agencies to sponsor diverse programs based on student interests and motivation. Students at Allegheny work with disadvantaged children, at-risk youth, mentally challenged people and the elderly. They tackle societal problems such as hunger, homelessness, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, wildlife rehabilitation and environmental decay.

Students can participate in one-time service projects such as Make a Difference Day, weeklong projects on Alternative Spring Break or on-going service opportunities in the local community. Last year, more than 60 percent of the student body at Allegheny College completed approximately 60,000 hours of community service.

More than 80 student service leaders are trained each year to lead on-going service with agency partners in the Meadville community. These students organize and facilitate programs at their site and recruit, orient and train other Allegheny volunteers. Peer-to-peer recruitment and student leadership are hallmarks of the service movement at Allegheny College.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve.

Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, CNCS has administered the award since 2006 and manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.

More information about community service efforts at Allegheny College can be found here.