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For Immediate Release KING’S NAMED TO PRESIDENTIAL HONOR ROLL FOR SERVICE - One of only 15 institutions in PA to be named for four consecutive years March 8, 2010 - The Corporation for National and Community Service has named King's to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts during the 2008-09 academic year. King's is the only Wyoming Valley institution of higher learning and one of only sixteen in Pennsylvania to be named to the Honor Roll each year since its 2006 launch. "The commitment to service on a local, national and international basis was established at King’s by its founders, the Holy Cross Congregation. The College is proud to report that during the academic year ending May 2009, King’s students combined for more than 94,000 service hours, the equivalent of more than 10 years,” said Rev. Thomas O'Hara, CSC. The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses. More than eight out of every 10 King’s students participated in service efforts last year and the average student committed almost 55 hours. Coordinated through the College's Office of Volunteer Services (OVS) and the Shoval Center for Community Engagement and Learning, service efforts benefited primarily at-risk or underserved segments of the Wyoming Valley. One project was an extensive effort in cooperation with Luzerne County social service agencies with regard to a growing number of mentally ill homeless people. The College has also expanded its McGowan Outreach Program to include services for all school-aged and adult members of the Hispanic population. Several young people who participated in the high school mentoring program at its inception are now attending King’s on full scholarships and serving as mentors to current Hispanic high school students. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.” The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency established to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. King's College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross. |