Allison Oster
Public Relations Manager
(626) 815-4518
APU Recognized for Exceptional Community Service
March 10, 2008
AZUSA, Calif. –
For the second consecutive year, Azusa Pacific University was recognized by Learn and Serve America on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for excellence in service learning. APU was 1 of 127 schools on the General Honor Roll with Distinction for 2007.
APU submitted five service learning programs for the nominations:
- Cerritos Kidz – An after-school tutoring and mentoring program developed through collaboration between the residents of a low-income apartment complex, their landlord, a social work class from APU, and student volunteers.
- Mexico Outreach – Since 1968, Mexico Outreach has mobilized, educated, and involved nearly 250,000 young people from across the U.S. and Canada in cross-cultural community service trips to Mexico, offering opportunities for involvement in construction, cleaning, mentoring children, and counseling in partnership with the Mexicali community.
- Focus International – This APU missions program sends students, faculty, and alumni to serve in more than 20 national and worldwide locations, providing services including HIV/AIDS education, public health, at-risk-youth, orphanages, and teaching English.
- Azusa Reads – A community-based Federal Work Study-funded program that offers free reading assistance to first through fifth grade students in Azusa.
- College Headed and Might Proud (C.H.A.M.P.) – Offers fourth-grade students a glimpse into college, potential careers, and team building; and aids APU students in understanding culture and social class, while promoting respect and eliminating stereotypes.
The Honor Roll launched in 2006 to recognize institutions demonstrating innovative and effective community service programs. The Presidential Award is given each year to only a handful of schools and is the highest federal recognition for service-learning and volunteer work.
APU’s Center for Service Learning and Research seeks to build community by developing positive, reciprocal relationships between APU and the local private and public sectors. They aim to enhance student and faculty scholarship through service activities, which integrate faith in Christ with service and learning. With more than 50 programs currently in place, each student at APU has the opportunity to serve their community. For more information, visit www.apu.edu/caslr/.
Featured in TIME magazine and ranked as one of the nation’s best by U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive, Christian, evangelical university, committed to God First and known for excellence in higher education. Azusa Pacific’s main campus lies just 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, while its seven Southern California regional centers bring convenience and extend quality programming. The university offers more than 50 areas of undergraduate study, 23 master's degrees, and 7 doctorates to a total student population of more than 8,100.
