Civic Engagement Awards ceremony at Ivy Tech to honor volunteers, celebrate economic impact

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2013

Civic Engagement Awards ceremony at Ivy Tech to honor volunteers, celebrate economic impact

Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus is hosting its 10^th Annual O’Bannon Institute on April 10 through 12. An awards ceremony to honor faculty, staff, students, and community partners for excellence in civic engagement will kick off the annual three-day event. The ceremony will be held in the Hoosier Times Student Commons, on Wednesday, April 10 at 4 p.m. in the Connie and Steve Ferguson Academic Building on Ivy Tech’s main campus.

“One of our campus goals at Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington is to model a service-oriented learning environment,” said Chancellor John Whikehart. “In the past year, through volunteerism and service learning, Ivy Tech-Bloomington has contributed a total value of *$1,185,995 in the communities we serve. I want to thank our volunteers and community partners that make possible this significant economic contribution.”

*Figure based on national value of volunteer time from www.IndependentSector.org.

In the 2012/2013 academic year (to date), 3,546 students in76 service learning classes contributed nearly 33,000 volunteer hours in Ivy Tech-Bloomington’s service area of Green, Lawrence, Martin, Morgan, Monroe, Orange, and Owen counties. That’s a $729,513 contribution from Ivy Tech classes that have service components written into the curriculum.

In volunteer hours alone, Ivy Tech students, staff, and faculty reported nearly 21,000 volunteer hours at 80 agencies and/or organizations in our communities. The total value for Ivy Tech volunteer hours in our communities is $456,482.

“This year’s totals are nearly $300,000 more than last year’s Ivy Tech contributions in the community,” said Chelsea Rood-Emmick, Executive Director, Center for Civic Engagement at Ivy Tech-Bloomington. “We’ve seen some tremendous growth in service-learning and volunteer programs, and we’re celebrating that at this year’s O’Bannon Institute for Community Service.”

Award categories for the 2013 O’Bannon Institute for Community Service Civic Engagement Awards Ceremony include the Community Partner Award, the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center Community Partner Award, the Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship Community Partner Award, Excellence in Service Learning, Excellence in Volunteerism, and the Jeanine C. Rae Humanitarian Award.

The Community Partner Award honors an organization that the college works with throughout the year. This year’s winner is Area 10 Agency on Aging. The college has worked with Area 10 on a variety of projects including AmeriCorps and their holiday charity drives. Ivy Tech nursing students spend an afternoon every academic year volunteering at the Senior Games, and we work with Area 10 to provide Rural Transit services for our students.

Ivy Tech Waldron Community Partner Award goes to Lotus Education and Arts Foundation. Ivy Tech’s connection with Lotus has afforded Ivy Tech Waldron galleries the opportunity to display tremendous exhibits. In 2012, a collection of Near and Middle East textiles, and museum quality African textiles, baskets, and hats were on display. For each of the Lotus art shows they fill all three of our main floor galleries with beautiful and informative displays that are designed, installed, and removed by Lotus volunteers.

Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship Community Partner Award goes to Art Sanctuary in Martinsville. The Art Sanctuary has partnered with Ivy Tech to expand the college’s “Business of Art” program into Morgan County through hosting professional workshops for artists. As the Region 8 Arts Partner for the Indiana Arts Commission, Ivy Tech-Bloomington has expanded services to artists in Morgan County with the assistance of the Art Sanctuary.

Excellence in Student Volunteerism Award goes to Jessica Troxel. Troxel has been a volunteer at the Recovery Engagement Center since 2010. She helps clients write resumes and look for employment. She also tutors students from Ivy Tech at the Recovery Engagement Center. She developed a junior and teen volunteer program for the children of adults in recovery and operates as the volunteer coordinator. Troxel is mother to her two young boys.

Excellence in Faculty/Staff Volunteerism Award goes to Chanden Strunk in the Human Resources Office. Strunk served as coach and mentor to a group of middle school basketball players in the Ellettsville school district. He has coached for two years, and as a positive role model, teaches children the important skills of leadership, teamwork, and work ethic.

Excellence in Volunteerism Award goes to Amy Brier, art instructor. Brier and her students in the spring of 2012 submitted an artistic brain to the Brain Extravaganza event. The Ivy Tech student brain was on display at Centerstone. In the past, her students have created art to be displayed at the annual Lotus Arts Festival. In fall 2012 to spring 2013, in honor of Ivy Tech-Bloomington’s 10-year building anniversary, her students created a new suspended sculpture in the stairwell on main campus in the Connie and Steve Ferguson Academic Building.

The final award, the Jeanine C. Rae Humanitarian Award goes to student Jonathan Holland. He has done extensive work with at-risk populations, including people struggling with addiction recovery and those re-entering society after incarceration. He has taught weekly writing workshops at the Recovery Engagement Center and tutors for Amethyst House. As a champion for Ivy Tech, Jonathan helps those in recovery fill out FAFSA paperwork and to apply and register for classes at Ivy Tech.

More information about the annual O’Bannon Institute for Community Service can be found online at http://obannon.ivytech.edu.

Information about Ivy Tech-Bloomington’s Center for Civic Engagement can be found at online www.ivytech.edu/civicengagement.

The O’Bannon Institute for Community Service was launched ten years ago by Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus as an annual opportunity for the community to come together to discuss topics related to nonprofits, education and political and civic service. Previous speakers at the Institute have included former U.S. Senators, Pulitzer prize-winning authors, Governors, political advisers and columnists, and Laura W. Bush, former First Lady of the United States.

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College (www.ivytech.edu) is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.