Service Learning

Also found online at http://www.migrationinformation.org/integrationawards/files/2011-05-18-E…

WASHINGTON – The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) on Wednesday announced that Project SHINE (Students Helping In the Naturalization of Elders) is one of four recipients of its 2011 E Pluribus Unum Prizes for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives. The national award honors Project SHINE, an intergenerational learning program through which nearly 10,000 college students have worked with elderly immigrants and refugees to improve their English proficiency, civics knowledge and health literacy.

The Intergenerational Center at Temple University serves as the national office of the SHINE network, which operates on 19 campuses and a community non-profit in nine states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

SHINE and the other E Pluribus Unum Prizes winners will be honored tonight at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other national policymakers. The national award is accompanied by a $50,000 prize.

The E Pluribus Unum Prizes program, established in 2008 by MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy with generous support from the J.M. Kaplan Fund, seeks to encourage the adoption of effective integration practices and inspire others to take on the important work of integrating immigrants and their children so they can join the mainstream of U.S. society.

SHINE partners with colleges and universities, immigrant communities and local health/aging networks to improve elderly immigrants’ English language skills, knowledge of U.S. civics and history and understanding of healthy aging practices. SHINE volunteers also prepare older immigrants to take the U.S. citizenship test. SHINE also enhances the health communication skills of older immigrants, addressing their language and health literacy needs.

Since 1997, Project SHINE has offered educational services to over 40,000 older immigrants and refugees, an often-overlooked segment of the immigrant population that is less able to actively seek ways to better integrate into local communities. Nearly 10,000 college students have participated in Project SHINE since the initiative’s inception, volunteering more than 150,000 hours. By instilling an ethos of service and civic participation, SHINE helps future leaders by giving them a window into new cultures and older generations.
“Project SHINE is an exceptional model of two-way integration. The students provide important English, civics and literacy knowledge to an immigrant population that is often overlooked by others, and at the same time are exposed to the rich cultures and experiences of older migrants,” said Margie McHugh, co-director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.

“The program provides elderly immigrants and refugees with new links to their communities,” said MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, who is co-director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. “SHINE has strong metrics demonstrating its success with this often harder-to-reach elderly population.”
A study by the American Institutes for Research found that only 46 percent of first-time applicants for citizenship over the age of 65 passed the naturalization exam, compared to the national pass rate of 84 percent. Ninety percent of Project SHINE participants who take the citizenship test pass it. Student volunteer tutors provide at least two hours of mentoring weekly per semester, with lesson plans and one-on-one teaching or in small class settings.

“Older immigrants have a strong desire to learn about their new countries and contribute to their communities. They may have difficulty learning in a regular classroom setting due to pace of instruction, isolation or linguistic barriers. SHINE has evolved over the years as it responds to the needs identified by older immigrants,” said Project SHINE Program Director Patience Lehrman. “Through SHINE, older immigrants have reported increased confidence in their ability to communicate with health practitioners, increased access to health services and increased civic participation.”

Project SHINE has been replicated at colleges and universities in California (San Jose State University, San Jose City College, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, California State University at Northridge and California State University Fullerton); Georgia (Emory University and Georgia Perimeter College); Hawaii (Chaminade University, Kapi’olani Community College and University of Hawaii at Manoa), Minnesota (Metropolitan State University and Minneapolis Community and Technical College); New York (Utica College and Hamilton College); North Carolina (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro); and Texas (University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College). It also operates in Colorado at the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning.

The other 2011 E Pluribus Unum Prize winners are the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (MO) and the Welcome Back Initiative. Marriott International received the first-ever E Pluribus Unum Corporate Leadership Award.

For more information or to set up interviews, contact Michelle Mittelstadt at 202-266-1910, [email protected]; or Burke Speaker at 202-266-1920, [email protected].

# # #

The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels.

15th Annual Continuums of Service Conference, 2012-04 Seattle, WA
Higher education has its roots in serving the public good. While most colleges and universities still believe this to be a core foundation of their missions, over the years, more emphasis has been placed on the individual gain of the student, primarily in the realm economic mobility. At this point in history, it is imperative for higher education to reconnect to its public purpose.

The civic engagement/service-learning field is well-poised to help create a new vision for higher education. The 2012 Continuums of Service conference, “Creating the New Vision for Higher Education” focused on this topic.

Chaminade University’s Service-Learning Director, Candice Sakuda, was chosen to serve on the COS planning committee.  The committee sought to facilitate roundtable discussions to explore diverse perspectives, to create public spaces to share ideas, and to invite prominent keynote speakers representing a broad range of expertise to challenge our thinking.

The committee elected Chaminade Professor Wayne Tanna as one of its keynote speakers for this national audience.  He was thought-provoking and hilarious at the same time. Of all we covered during this featured session, Professor Tanna’s speech was the one that everyone was talking about at the refreshment table afterward.  One graduate student commented, “That made me kinda want to look into going to Chaminade!” His peer wholeheartedly agreed, “Oh my gosh, I was thinking the same thing.”

Throughout the conference, participants integrated collective ideas into a “new vision” to guide their work, connected their colleges and universities with their communities in profound ways, and prepared their students to be civic leaders NOW, and in the years to come. (Adapted from COS Conference theme statement.)

KEYNOTE PANEL PRESENTATION – Thursday, April 12 at 12:45pm

Moderator: Sherril Gelmon – Sherril Gelmon, DrPH, is Professor of Public Health and Chair of the Division of Public Administration in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University and Senior Consultant with Community-Campus Partnerships for Health. One of her current areas of research on engagement relates to institutional strategy and establishment of models of faculty roles and recognition for community-engaged scholarship. Dr. Gelmon was the founding chair of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (2006-2008), she is the lead author of the Northwest Health Foundation’s handbook on program evaluation and of the Campus Compact publication “Assessing the Impact of Service-learning and Civic Engagement,” and she received the Civic Engagement Award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Learning from Portland State University in 2007. She is the 2011 recipient of the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award from Campus Compact.
She is an alumna of the Pew Health Policy Fellows Program, and received her doctorate in health policy from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Her master’s degree is in health administration from the University of Toronto, and she holds undergraduate degrees in physiotherapy from the Universities of Toronto and Saskatchewan.

Dr. Lee D. Lambert currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Community College.
As a leader and champion for innovation and change in U.S. higher education, President Lambert’s work has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Association for Community College Trustees Pacific Region Chief Executive Officer Award.
President Lambert has a J.D. degree from Seattle University’s School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College. He also serves on a number of local and national Boards and Councils.

Deborah Wilds is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the College Success Foundation (CSF).
The Foundation has over 10 years of proven experience inspiring underserved, low-income students to finish high school and providing the unique integrated system of support and scholarships they need to graduate college and succeed in life.
Prior to 2006, Dr. Wilds was a senior program officer for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led efforts for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, Gates Cambridge Scholars and Washington State Achievers Program. She also oversaw the early college initiative creating 250 new early college high schools.

Dr. Wilds served as the Deputy Director of the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Office of Minorities in Higher Education in Washington, DC. She has co-authored several books, written more than 20 articles and co-authored ACE’s Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education. She was the Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of New Era Education, an independent school and pre-school located in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves on boards for CSF – District of Columbia, Philanthropy Northwest, College Spark, University of Washington Bothell Advisory and is on the Board of Regents at Seattle University.

Dr. Wilds has a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Planning and Administration from University of Maryland at College Park; an M.S. degree from Howard University; and a B.S. degree from California State University, San Diego.

Wayne M. Tanna, JD, LL.M., is a professor of accounting at Chaminade University. His academic focus is in the areas of tax law and ethics. He teaches a broad range of courses in accounting, tax law, and business ethics to undergraduates and M.B.A. students at Chaminade. Professor Tanna is an attorney and practices exclusively on a pro bono basis concentrating in the areas of non profits, tax, and civil rights law. He has presented over 300 workshops and seminars to community organizations and grassroots groups on various legal and business topics. Professor Tanna also serves on numerous nonprofit boards and is a current appointee of the Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In 2005, professor Tanna was appointed by the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury to a three year term (2006 – 2008) to the national IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. He also is the director (pro bono) of a federally funded Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.
In recognition of his service to the community professor Tanna has received numerous recognitions, including the Hawaii State Bar Association’s Justice Award and the American Bar Association/National Association of Pro Bono Coordinators’ William Reese Smith Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award. Professor Tanna has twice been awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award (presented by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, this national award recognizes exemplary volunteer service to the community and country).

Tom Caswell is an Open Education Policy Associate at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). Tom’s current projects include running the Open Course Library, piloting a community college Open Learning Initiative (OLI) in Washington, and supporting the OPEN initiative for Department of Labor C3T grantees. Prior to working for the State Board, Tom was Strategic Outreach Manager for the OpenCourseWare Consortium. He holds an Ed.S. in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences from Utah State University.

Jimena Mascaro moved here 4 years ago after completing high school in Lima, Peru. Her passion is traveling, which provides the opportunity to learn about different cultures and diverse groups of people. This interest influenced her decision to pursue a BA in sociology with a minor in Women’s Studies, while her desire to help others led her to become a Peer Navigator at Green River Community College. She enjoys helping other students navigate the school system, as she herself was helped. One of her biggest goals is to “leave the place that I’m in a little better than when I came”. She has enriched her meaning of diversity and confirmed her passion for people by being part of several organizations including: Student Government, Latino Student Union, Queer and Allies, and Black Student Union. She will be graduating spring quarter and looks forward to transferring to a four year university.

By Suzanne Roig, Published by The Honolulu Advertiser

Chaminade University students yesterday toiled in streams and at schools, and aided the elderly and the homeless as part of the school’s annual community service day.

Starting at 8:15 yesterday morning, about 150 students, faculty and staff came together and went to seven different locations on Oahu. They cleaned up at the Halawa Valley Heiau, they baked cookies and delivered them to the Institute for Human Services. They cleaned up the grounds of Palolo Elementary School, the Palolo Stream, repainted railings at the Palolo Chinese Home, organized a learning center and helped at the IHS shelter.

It was part of a class for new freshman, said Allison Jerome, Chaminade University associate dean of students. The class is a requirement for all incoming freshmen and is designed to teach students about giving back to the community.

“A lot of students made connections today,” Jerome said. “They said they wanted to go back and help or come out and tutor at Palolo Elementary. Ideally what we want out of this day is for them to have enjoyed making a difference in their community.”

Chardonnay Pao, a new freshman and basketball player, is no stranger to community service. Still, she had a great time at the Palolo Chinese Home, a place she never knew existed before yesterday. Still, she had a great time painting railings and washing cars at the elderly home at the back of Palolo Valley.

“It wasn’t very hard work at all,” Pao said. “I am thinking of contacting them to do my community service hours at.”

Pao is required to put in a set amount of time in doing community service as part of a scholarship she received.

This is the second year in a row that the school has organized a day-long community service day as a real world application of the seminar class they are required to take, Jerome said.

“It’s turned out to be a good thing,” she said. “The best part of the day for me is when I hear that the students have enjoyed their work. That’s ultimately the results that we want. The students worked hard today.”