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Furman named to service honor roll


Last updated March 14, 2016

By News administrator

Furman University has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

The designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

The Corporation for National Community Service 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.

“Furman has a long history of service-learning and believes strongly in preparing our graduates to be active leaders and participants in an ever changing world,” said Nancy Cooper, coordinator of volunteer services for Heller Service Corps at Furman. “We’re honored to receive this prestigious award—and owe much of it to the students themselves. They’re the energy driving our commitment and they’re the ones who make it all happen.”

Through Heller Service Corps, Furman students have:

  • invested time with under resourced children at the Frazee Dream Center
  • assisted first-generation college applicants through SC Can Go
  • served as camp counselors for special needs kids at Camp Spearhead
  • volunteered time at Greenville Humane Society
  • mentored children in foster care through Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth
  • served in two free medical clinics in the area
  • led school programs for at-risk  youth (Ladies of Distinction and Men of Distinction)
  • helped build houses in the Upstate through Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to working directly with these agencies, each year student volunteers with Heller Service Corps hold a Fall Festival for area school children, an Exceptional Adults Valentine’s Dance for community members with special needs, and lead a Holiday Giving Tree project engaging Furman students in giving to children of low-income households.

More information about Furman’s Heller Service Corps can be found at here, or contact Nancy Cooper at 864-294-2900. More information about eligibility and the full list of Honor Roll awardees can be found at nationalservice.gov.

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