UMW has been named to The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The University is one of 700 U.S. colleges and universities commended for exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The honor, presented to the Community Outreach and Resources (COAR), was awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education.
COAR is comprised of about 500 students who volunteered nearly 6,600 hours in the community during the 2009-10 academic year. UMW students assisted more than 22 local schools and agencies, including Habitat for Humanity, the Thurman Brisben Center, the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, Friends of the Rappahannock, the American Red Cross, and Mary Washington Hospital. Over the past two years, COAR has more than doubled its number of service hours to the community.
In other honors, the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Red Cross recognized COAR for the second consecutive year with the College Campus Award for its outstanding college blood drive program. During the 2009-10 academic year, the organization collected 594 pints of blood for the Red Cross. In addition, COAR has been recognized as a Community Partner for its tutoring program at Stafford Junction, a partnership in the Olde Forge neighborhood in Stafford County.
COAR also made an impressive showing as host of UMW’s inaugural Relay for Life, a volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. Last spring, the UMW group raised more than $35,000.
