NEW ROCHELLE, NY — For the sixth consecutive year, The College of New Rochelle (CNR) has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Over 3,000 CNR students completed 189,377 hours of service in the 2013-2014 academic year, the year for which the recognition was received. The Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
Launched in 2006, the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions of higher education that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships.
“We are thrilled to once again be recognized for this prestigious honor,” said Elaine White, Vice President for Student Services. “Education for service has been at the heart of The College of New Rochelle’s mission since its founding by the Ursuline Order in 1904, who themselves follow the call of Serviam – ‘I will serve.’”
The College of New Rochelle was recognized for the 2015 Honor Roll for three programs in particular:
· Environmental Assessment of Glenwood Lake –a group of CNR students and their professor created a partnership with the Glenwood Lake Association and Friends of Glenwood Lake to research the health of Glenwood Lake in New Rochelle, following the death of numerous crawfish and the excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants. The study results laid the groundwork for continued research and planning for the long-term health of the lake and the surrounding park. The Lake Committee will also use the findings of this study to inform county-wide planning for all of its lakes. For the students majoring in chemistry and biology, the project offered an opportunity to use sophisticated testing instruments and sharpened their field research skills as they worked on a real-world problem related to their majors.
· Establishing a Library in Sassier, Haiti –during a service trip to Haiti, CNR students assisted in establishing a library for College Pierre Toussaint in the rural village of Sassier near Jérémie, the first complete secondary school in western Haiti. This tiny village has no electricity and only one gravel road to connect them to the outside world. CNR and other organizations also collected and donated books for the College Pierre Toussaint library in the two years prior to this trip. While in Haiti, CNR students cleaned, sorted and catalogued more than 1,000 books. Prior to establishing this library, the closest library that College Pierre Toussaint students could utilize for their studies was in Jérémie – a two-hour walk from Sassier.
· Public Health Clinical Experience with Hope Community Services—CNR students enrolled in the RN-BSN program and nursing faculty collaborated with Hope Community Services in New Rochelle to provide health-related services to families and individuals living below the poverty level. Hope Community Services is a not-for-profit, non-sectarian organization that provides food and support services to impoverished and immigrant families in New Rochelle and the surrounding areas. After researching what topics were of importance to those coming to Hope for assistance, students prepared educational materials on bedbug control, diabetes education, diet, stress reduction, conflict management, blood pressure control, and general skin care. The program enabled clients to share experiences while learning strategies to augment healthier lifestyles.
In addition, CNR students annually participate in numerous service activities. Among them are conducting Midnight Runs to New York City to help the homeless, volunteering locally at soup kitchens, tutoring children, and holding drives for needed items. Spring break service trips have taken students to sites both domestic and abroad, most recently to Camden, NJ and Haiti. CNR Community members are invited to take part in a College-wide Community Service Day each year. These service activities connect CNR’s six campuses to each local community, impacting neighbors by building relationships and offering needed services.