84 percent of Colorado College students are involved in community service.
Life at Colorado College » Community Service « Admission Home
CC Volunteers Help Shed Light
Over half block '06-'07, a group of Colorado College volunteers traveled to Domi, India, to install solar panels in a rural village.
Volunteer Dan Lustick explains, “We tried to introduce an idea of 3D volunteerism: we volunteer to aide you and then you continue the legacy to help others with similar projects, as we have helped you.” It was important for the villagers to know how to operate the light system in order for it to be sustainable.
The service work installing the solar panels was a major gain to the community. Sophomore Wagma Mommandi explains, “We introduced to and educated the villagers about Thrive lights and the small portable solar powered lights that they were receiving. It was a great experience..."
BreakOut-Canyonlands!
One of the service trips heading out first block break was to the Canyonlands of Utah. The trip focused on supplying water to trail maintenance crews working in the”Island in the Sky” District, about 40 minutes outside Moab.
Tabitha Hrynick taking a break from the hard work with Meg Reamer The work consisted of carrying 50lbs of water in a wheelbarrow across two and a half miles of Canyonlands terrain in order to reach the area where the trail maintenance crews were working. Co-trip leader Tabitha Hrynick describes the experience as “laborious, but because of everyone’s positive attitude we were able to get a lot done.” The work also help Hrynick understand the physical exertion in trail maintenance; “I never realized how hard it is to maintain a national park, but I think we definitely made a difference for them because the work they do is so difficult.”
Financial Aid Professionals At the Center: Colorado College's FWS Program
As an undergraduate institution, Colorado College is proud to claim that at least 80% of its students are engaged in some form of community service during their years here. An important factor in these impressive numbers is the college's dedication to the federal community service FWS program. The college consistently spends 15-20% of its Federal Work-Study (FWS) allocation on students working at community organizations.
In contrast to many colleges, Colorado College's contract with partner sites establishes the college itself as the students' employer. The college pays 100% of the students' wages, with no match from the community organization. This incentive has fostered a very positive response from the partner sites and the greater community.
DreamTree Project
One of Colorado College’s recent New Student Orientation Priddy trips was to Taos, New Mexico. Students on the trip were able to work with the DreamTree Project which helps homeless and displaced teens by providing shelter, support, and life skills. This was the third time a group of CC students have made it to Taos to work with this wonderful organization.
Having an ongoing commitment to the community and to DreamTree was especially meaningful to trip leader Dan Nelson-Kangas. “We helped do finishing work on a construction project that the two Priddy groups before us also worked on,” Dan explained. The CC volunteers dug trenches and did a lot of cleaning of the property in preparation for an upcoming landscaping project.
The exciting part about the landscaping project is that it is a ‘green’ project used for transitional housing. The trenches are going to be used for catching rain, which will then be stored in order to have a sustainable source of water for the landscaping.
Dan led the trip with Brooke Acarregui and brought along with them nine first-year students. Dan’s only regret, “I wish there was more time so we could’ve done more for them. A trip as rewarding as this one, was no doubt a wonderful way to start off the year.”
The DreamTree mission statement: “We believe youth have the right to a compassionate, loving place to grow.”
More information, resources, and related links
Colorado College has 20 alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps. Since the Corps' inception, 295 CC alumni have joined its ranks.
CC President Richard F. Celeste served as director of the U.S. Peace Corps from 1979 until 1981.
The CC Community Kitchen is a student organization designed to promote awareness of and provide services for the hungry and homeless of Colorado Springs. It is the only soup kitchen in the United States that actually operates on a college campus.
- The Center for Service and Learning
- The Priddy Experience
- "The Difference", the newsletter of the Center for Service and Learning