News from the Hilltop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 12, 2007

Birmingham-Southern College to take part in national effort to promote service-learning

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Birmingham-Southern College will join thousands of institutions of higher education across the country Sept. 17-23 to participate in Learn and Serve Challenge Week to raise awareness of the benefits of service-learning.

During the week, BSC students will mentor children at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, teach English to the community’s newest international residents, serve a meal at a women’s shelter, and provide important eye screening to preschoolers. All of these activities are ongoing at the college as part of its local service-learning projects.

BSC will join together in solidarity with other institutions across the nation to commemorate Learn and Serve Challenge Week by participating in a special Outreach Day Saturday, Sept. 22.

Service-learning is a teaching method that incorporates community work into the curriculum, thereby giving students real-world experience while meeting pressing community needs.

The U.S. government, in response to its recognition of the importance of service-learning in creating tomorrow’s civic leaders, created Learn and Serve America. The federal program, which supports service-learning at all levels of education, enables 1 million college students to engage in this work with the aim of instilling “an ethic of life-long community service.”

Colleges and universities are increasingly adopting service-learning as an integral component of the educational experience. At BSC, students have engaged in formal service-learning for more than two decades in partnerships with various local, national and international organizations.