News Archive
April 11, 2008
Otterbein Volunteers Plunge into Service
More than 200 Otterbein College students served 14 Columbus-area community agencies during the Center for Community Engagement’s annual spring community plunge on Saturday, April 26. The participants volunteered over 400 hours as part of the National Earth Day Celebration.
Read the full press release here.
Learn more about community plunges here.
February 4, 2008
"Sisters in Service" community plunge encourages volunteerism
More than 200 Greek women at Otterbein volunteered approximately 400 hours of service at 15 Columbus-area community agencies as part of the "Sisters in Service˜ community plunge on Saturday, Feb. 16. Some of the agencies the women assisted include Habitat for Humanity, Strategies Against Violence Everywhere, Holy Family Soup Kitchen, Columbus Literary Council, Hanby Arts Magnet School, and several churches and libraries.
The event will kicked off with a keynote speech by Brianne Stewart Harman, communications director of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in Columbus.
View the full press release here.
Learn more about CCE-sponsored community plunges here.
January 28, 2008
Whitney Prose awarded Carter Partnership Foundation Grant
Whitney Prose became the second Otterbein College student in two years to receive the $1,000 grant to implement innovative community-service programs. Her program aims to restore the sterile Otterbein Lake into a natural garden that visitors can enjoy.
Get more information here.
January 21, 2008
CCE to sponsor MLK Day with service
Middle and high school students from Westerville and Columbus will attend the 3rd Annual Westerville Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast Celebration at the Villa Milano Banquet & Conference Center. The breakfast will be followed by Reader's Theatre pieces at Otterbein College written by middle school students from the Columbus Public school district.
The "Walk the Walk" program follows, which urges students to walk through the community to assess need and increase their understanding of social-justice issues. The walk through the community will lead them to the Westerville Senior Center, where students will work together with seniors on the "Bear ‘n' Blankets" project. The "Bear ‘n' Blankets" project encourages students and seniors to sew and craft collaboratively on teddy bears and fleece blankets to be donated to a local agency.
October 18, 2007
SAFETY EXPO TO OFFER TIPS TO STUDENTS
MedFlight helicopter and pumpkin carving included among festivities
Otterbein College will celebrate Make-A-Difference Day with a Fall Safety Expo that will explore a variety of important safety topics, including fire safety, the potential danger of strangers, disaster planning and knife safety, on Friday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Read the full press release here.
October 2, 2007
Otterbein and Genoa Middle School reward Chase Bank for enhancing literacy
Genoa Principal Suzanne Kile and Otterbein College President C. Brent DeVore awarded Bill Brooks and Jeff Lyttle from Chase Bank an "A" on Tuesday, Oct. 2 for their continued support of creative literacy efforts at Otterbein and Genoa Middle School. This reception was part of a day-long celebration for receiving a $39,000 grant from Chase Bank to continue the Creative Literacy Alliance with Otterbein and Genoa into its third year.
Earlier in the day, poet David Hassler, who manages the Wick Poetry Program at Kent State University, held a poetry "mini-fest" with Genoa Middle school students. They wrote poetry using his prompts, learned methods of performing and "scripting" those poems, and also worked in small groups with eight student poets from Otterbein's Creative Writing program who are being trained in methods of teaching poetry in schools.
September 25, 2007
Chase Bank grant allies Otterbein and Genoa Middle School to enhance literacy
Genoa Middle School and Otterbein College will host poet David Hassler, who manages the Wick Poetry Program at Kent State University, to work with middle school and college students on Tuesday, Oct. 2, in the library of Genoa Middle School.
The official "kick-off" event at 3 p.m. celebrates Otterbein's Center for Community Engagement receiving a $39,000 grant from Chase Bank to continue the Otterbein-Genoa "Creative Literacy Alliance," which aims to enhance literacy for students in Westerville City Schools, for its third year.
During a poetry "mini-fest" from 12:45-2:45 p.m., Hassler will work with 30 selected students from Genoa's 6th, 7th, and 8th grades to write poetry using his prompts, learn methods of performing and "scripting" those poems, and also work in small groups with eight student poets from Otterbein's Creative Writing program who are being trained in methods of teaching poetry in schools.
September 21, 2007
JOHN McKNIGHT TO SPEAK AT OTTERBEIN
Discussion focuses on identifying and mobilizing community assets
Otterbein College will host John McKnight for a discussion titled "Building Communities from the Inside Out" on Monday, Oct. 1 from 3 - 5 p.m. in the Courtright Memorial Library.
McKnight's speech will illustrate how communities can improve by finding, using and connecting the gifts of all residents, including many who have been overlooked. He will also explore methods used by institutions to support, rather than control or exploit, the resources of local communities.
Read the full press release here.
September 11, 2007
Service Extravaganza showcases CardinalCorps service organizations and opportunities available at Otterbein
Aloha! The Center for Community Engagement and the CardinalCorps leaders invite you to join the beach party at the Service Extravaganza on Thursday, September 13 at the Campus Center. Explore the exciting service opportunities available at Otterbein from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. as you surf through the presentation of our service organizations!
June 10, 2007
David Eisner speaks at Otterbein Commencement
Eisner, whose speech discussed the benefits of serving and connecting with the community, is Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Federal Agency that oversees America's service and volunteering programs.
Read the full speech on the Learn & Serve America Web site here.
Read David Eisner's complete biography here.
October 24, 2006
Otterbein College named a finalist for the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
Otterbein's numerous programs benefiting Westerville City School children and commitment to service helped earn the honor of being one of 13 other finalist schools across the country.
See the press release here.
January 20, 2005
The following article by John Kengla appeared in Otterbein's Towers magazine. John is a member of Otterbein's academic teaching staff and is the Faculty Coordinator for Service-Learning.
Two Otterbein Senior Students Receive the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Justice
Lauren Suveges, left, and Lucia Jeantine, both seniors, react to being names this year;s recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Peace and Justice.
On January 20, in the newly renovated Cowan Hall Auditorium, during the annual convocation celebrating Martin Luther King's work and ideas, Lucia Jeantine, a senior psychology major, and Lauren Suveges, a senior art major, received the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Justice.
To that point, the audience had been inspired by the program - the Gospel Choir; the stirring speech by Mr. Samuel Gresham Jr. President of the Columbus Urban League; and several brief, poignant student testimonies, and when Lucia and Lauren walked on the stage to receive the award, the audience felt the power of their contribution and their extraordinary commitment to the Otterbein-Indianola Middle School Mentoring Program. As Lucia and Lauren accepted the award, they expressed their gratitude for the honor humbly; they cried; they hugged; Lucia exclaimed, "We did it for the children."
As the faculty coordinator for the mentoring program over the last year, I am honored to observe the extraordinary work of these women. The purpose of the Indianola Program is to establish mentoring relationships between Otterbein students and Indianola Middle School students. As mentors, our students assist in the Indianola students' educations and acquaint them with college life.
As the student coordinators of the of the program, Lucia and Lauren have worked tirelessly: recruiting and training mentors; planning the weekly sessions during which the Indianola students come to campus; learning each child's strengths, weaknesses, and needs; teaching the children academic skills, self-confidence, the importance of self-awareness, and aspirations; expressing a rare level of empathy for each child in the program; dedicating their time - and their individual beings - to this urgent work. In measuring the effects their work, Barbara Parker, who coordinates the after school program at Indianola, wrote in her nomination letter-one of many the MLK Selection Committee received:
Lauren and Lucia know how important it is for the Indianola students to begin to see a future . . . . As a way for this change to take place, these exceptional young women are committed to . . . the weekly trips the Indianola students make to Otterbein, the time for doing homework with their mentors, the time to be with their mentors - to see them as role models and to confide in them, the field trips, the special programs that make them better students, and those that show them career paths and the value and fun of a college education . . . . The 18 students in the program are much more likely "to make it" because of these two wonderful young women.I am in awe of Lucia and Lauren. Their dedication and commitment to peace and justice inspires us all.
