Campus Profile: University of Oregon / O Heroes

While student-athletes at the University of Oregon have always valued giving back to the community that supports them, their commitment to service has recently been solidified through the creation of a non-profit organization called Oregon Heroes.

O Heroes, which formed in 2008 and operates under the direction of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serves to enhance student service efforts through developing partnerships with community organizations, building greater awareness and recognition of engaged student-athletes in the community, and providing the ability to donate funds to local organizations and individuals.

With an emphasis on health, education, and service, O Heroes engages the UO campus by hosting Day and Week of Service events, as well as managing previously existing service programs, such as the Duckling program, which raises awareness and funding for local children with serious ailments.

Last October, shortly after the unveiling of the program, the first O Heroes Day of Service saw atheletes from every University of Oregon sport serving in the Eugene/Springfield community. Students painted the Vivian Olum Child Development Center and cleaned up its outdoor play areas, served in the Food for Lane County Churchill Garden, visited children at Sacred Heart's River Bend Hospital, and more.

On March 2-6, 2009, students spent an O Heroes Week of Service serving as positive role models to local youth. In conjunction with the National Education Association's Read Across America Day, students engaged with local K-8 students by playing sports, encouraging physical education, writing and sharing motivational letters, and more.

The next O Heroes Week of Service will take place in May.

Because student-athletes act as role models to local youth (often to their peers, as well), O Heroes is proving to be a powerful way to raise visibility of the service these students provide, and the positive impact that they have on the community.

To learn more about O Heroes click here, or contact James Harris at jharris@uoregon.edu.

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Campus Profile: Western Oregon University

Western Oregon University (WOU), the oldest institution in the Oregon University system, knows how to have an impact beyond the classroom. With faculty engaged in wide-ranging scholarship, students invested in serving their community and the greater region, and a range of community-based projects and faculty-student collaborations, WOU has developed the reputation of a public-serving institution.

A cornerstone of the school's identity, approximately one-third of Western students are enrolled in the College of Education. These students are prepared to contribute to the fields of education, rehabilitation, interpretation, and health sciences, and are often in high demand throughout the state and region. WOU is also home to the nationally-renowned Teaching Research Institute, which has fostered relationships with local schools, districts, and teacher education programs to facilitate positive change to educational systems.

Similarly, the WOU office of Service Learning and Career Development, a recipient of the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the third year in a row, provides faculty with support and models to better understand and incorporate service learning into their teaching, while promoting community engagement and volunteerism among students, staff, faculty, and alumni.

In addition to being the host campus for Oregon Campus Compact's 2008 CAPITAL Conference, opportunities for the Western community to strengthen their academic studies though service and experiential learning include: becoming a member of the WOU LeaderCorps, receiving an AmeriCorps education award through the Students In Service program, contributing in volunteer efforts in the local community on national service days, and participating in an Alternative Break trip.

During winter break, an Alternative Break team traveled through the snow to Seattle, WA. This team assisted with the Salvation Army’s Toy and Joy drive, doing everything from sorting to helping the families pick out toys. They also volunteered for the Kimball Elementary School.

And as the weather warms, Alternative Break trips are on the horizon for many Oregon schools. Here's what Western has planned:

DENVER, CO

Students will volunteer for the Food Bank of the Rockies to help fight hunger. The team will enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Colorado while giving a helping hand in their host community.

SAN DIEGO, CA

Student volunteers will provide activities for the homeless youth in the area. They will also assist a youth emergency shelter through cleaning and organizing the group facilities.

TEXAS

Students will be taking part of a vast array of volunteering activities in order to assist victims of Hurricane Ike through Community Collabrations International.

CAPE VERDE, AFRICA

Students will help in three different schools for children of all ages. The team will also provide educational supplies to assist the children with their development.

COSTA RICA

Students will help in the preservation efforts of endangered sea turtles and learn about the environment and culture. The team will assist in clearing beaches for turtles to lay their eggs, moving eggs to a safe hatchery, and keeping night watch against poachers and predators.

To find out what other Oregon schools have planned for their Alternative Breaks, check out our ASB '09 GoogleMap, below!

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Campus Profile: Portland Community College

Serving as a “crossroads for people with many destinations,” Portland Community College provides a variety of educational opportunities to a diverse student body. Through credit and non-credit classes, transfer and continuing education programs as well as international studies programs, PCC students are encouraged to connect with their local and global community through discussion, education, and engagement.

An example of this commitment to engagement: over 100 PCC faculty “connect course learning objectives and reflection exercises with community service, thus allowing thousands of PCC students to volunteer with community agencies, learn about social issues, and make a difference.” In addition, PCC Rock Creek Campus student Yvonne Norman received the Faith Gabelnick Student Leadership Award, while Kim Smith, a Sylvania Campus Sociology professor, was honored with the Judith Ramaley Faculty Award for Service Learning at the Oregon Campus Compact Civic Engagement Awards in Spring, 2008.

This month, in honor of Black History Month, PCC campuses will be hosting several events to support thoughtful community dialogue, including a Black History Film Series, Student, Faculty & Staff of Color Luncheon, and free West-African drum lessons. Click here for event dates and locations.

Another PCC engagement effort, in partnership with Campus Comapct, is the Students4Giving Program.

In September 2007 Campus Compact and the Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund announced an alliance to educate and inspire a future generation of philanthropists in a new era of giving. Portland Community College was one of five academic institutions in the nation to receive $15,000 to create a donor advised fund to offer grants to non-profit organizations within their communities.

Last year the Portland Community College’s Students4Giving Project participants analyzed grant applications from 14 local non-profit organizations and selected four proposals for a total of $10,000 in grants. Students4Giving also advised the City of Portland’s Vision into Action Coalition with the awarding of $9,900 in Youth Action Grants. During last term 25 students from two accounting courses raised over $7,000 through an online auction and book drive to fund spring grants to local nonprofit organizations. This term the Youth Action Grant project is continuing through an Introduction to Accounting (BA111) course.

The newest and most exciting Students4Giving opportunity is the new Introduction to Nonprofits and Philanthropy (BA208) course in the spring. During this course students will learn how to become grant makers and actually give between $7,500-10,000 to nonprofits in our community. The course will also include many guest speakers from our nonprofit community and cover topics such as:

-Current issues and challenges in the nonprofit sector including access to health care, faith-based initiatives, and environmental sustainability

-Social entrepreneurship

-Modern & grassroots philanthropy

-Nonprofit employment

-Forming and operating a nonprofit

For more information on the Students4Giving Program at PCC, click here.

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Portland Community College Fast Facts

President: Preston Pulliams

Campus Presidents: Dr. Algie Gatewood (Cascade), David Rule (Rock Creek), Dr. Linda Gerber (Sylvania)

Formed: 1961 as the adult education program for the public school system

School Type: Public community college

Location: Portland Metro Area

Alternate Centers: Central Portland, Hillsboro Education Center, Portland Metropolitan, Southeast Portland, Washington County

Enrollment: 86,164 annually

Colors: Blue, yellow/gold

Mascot: Panthers

Mission statement: PCC provides access to an affordable, quality education in an atmosphere that encourages the full realization of each individual's potential.

PCC offers two-year transfer programs, community education classes, credit and non-credit classes and seminars, Associate of Arts transfer degree, international programs, and dual admission programs.

Campus Profile: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Southwestern Oregon Community College is no stranger to service; over the past year SOCC’s capacity to civically engage its campus in the surrounding community has blossomed. An example, Service Saturdays provide an opportunity for students, faculty and community to work together on monthly, local volunteer projects. And in October, 2008 SOCC hosted an overwhelmingly successful 1st annual Community Involvement Fair, connecting the campus and surrounding community to 15 service organizations. Much of this is a direct result of the hard work of Oregon Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA member, Julia Rose, during the 2007/08 school year.

Currently, SOCC is preparing to celebrate MLK Day for an entire week (January 19 – 23, 2009) with presentations, speakers, entertainment and service opportunities. Through a partnership with Human Rights Advocates of Coos County, SOCC students, faculty and the surrounding community will come together to:

-View and discuss films focusing on social justice
-Volunteer with Habitat Build and Bay Area Senior Center
-Raise awareness around local poverty, hunger and homelessness at the Hunger Banquet and Faces of Homelessness Panel
-Learn about the impact of the historic Negro Baseball League through singer, filmmaker, author and speaker Byron Motley

And more. For details, click on the image below.























Fast Facts: Southwestern Oregon Community College (SOCC)
President: Dr. Patty Scott (Interim President as of 10/08)
School Formed: 1961
Type: Public community college

Location: Coos Bay, Oregon
Enrollment: 14,500 annually
School Mascot: Lakers
School Colors: Red and blue

Mission Statement: Southwestern leads and inspires lifelong learning and provides quality learning opportunities.

SOCC includes two-year transfer programs, one and two-year professional/technical programs, short course occupational programs, adult education, a high school diploma program, and adult enrichment courses.

Campus Profile: Linfield College

With a busy fall term nearly behind them, Linfield students and faculty have a great deal to both reflect on and look forward to. During the past couple of months, the iVote initiative focused on registering, educating and mobilizing Linfield students, while Make a Difference Day (October 25) saw over 170 Linfield students participate on over 13 community service projects. And it's only the beginning of the 2008/09 school year.

Recently, Linfield hosted representatives from Habitat Guatemala for a week of service, education and fundraising. From this, students and faculty have begun to focus on local and global housing inequities - the theme for this year's Alternative Spring Break program, which will take students on service-oriented trips to Portland, New Orleans and Guatamala. For more information on Linfield's Alternative Spring Break program, click here.

Along this same theme, Linfield has become an active, long-term partner in its county's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. Partnering with this effort has resulted in many community-based learning and research opportunities for students and faculty; Linfield students are currently involved in compiling survey results gathered during the September 25th kick-off event for the 10-Year Plan. The survey collected data around local attitudes toward homeless families and individuals.

Faculty is also involved, including sociology professor, Robert Gardner, who will be leading a January term service-learning course focused on the region's homeless population. For this course students will work in teams to conduct research in each of the county's largest cities. At the end of January, the teams will participate in the first comprehensive county-wide homeless count.

Fast Facts: Linfield College

President: Dr. Thomas L. Hellie
School Chartered/Accredited: 1858/1922

Type: Four year, co-ed, comprehensive, undergraduate, private
Location: McMinnville, Oregon (main campus)
Enrollment: 1,700 (McMinnville campus)
School Mascot: Willy the Wildcat
School Colors: Purple and cardinal

Mission Statement:
Linfield College advances a vision of learning, life, and community that

* promotes intellectual challenge and creativity,
* values both theoretical and practical knowledge,
* engages thoughtful dialogue in a climate of mutual respect,
* honors the rich texture of diverse cultures and varied ways of understanding,
* piques curiosity for a lifetime of inquiry,
* and inspires the courage to live by moral and spiritual principle and to defend freedom of conscience.

Linfield College includes:
* A residential campus in McMinnville, Oregon
* A campus in Portland, Oregon, offering majors in Nursing, Health Sciences
* An Adult Degree Program which offers a set of adult degree courses online and at eight sites in Oregon