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Warren Wilson and Sodexo Dining Services have signed the Real Food Challenge Commitment, partnering to become the first college in the Southeast to sign the agreement. The national Real Food Challenge seeks to ensure that by 2020 at least 20 percent of college and university food purchases will be in the category of “real food”: local, sustainable, humane and fair trade. The Warren Wilson agreement is intended to double that percentage. The Local Foods Crew is charged with monitoring the food purchasing.

Queens University of Charlotte recently received the 2013 Governor’s Medallion Award, becoming just one of 20 organizations in the state so honored. The award recognizes outstanding volunteer service and stewardship. NC State University’s new Feed the Pack Food Pantry also received two campus-wide honors for its work providing emergency food assistance to needy students.

NC First Lady Ann McCrory, Queens CAC director Pat Taft, and Gov. McCrory

Since 2011, Queens has focused its service efforts on a partnership with Sedgefield Elementary School, a Title I school in Charlotte where more than 90% of students receive free-or-reduced price lunch. The project caught the attention of the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service and led to a Governor’s Medallion Award. Sedgefield staff nominated Queens for the honor.

“Queens has provided volunteers that are both dedicated and supportive, and it is a joy to watch them build strong relationships with our students,” said Principal Ivy Gill. “We are incredibly grateful to the entire Queens community for coming together to improve the lives of the children we serve.”

Queens freshmen built a garden area at a local school.

Over the past year, Queens has sent volunteers to Sedgefield five days a week to serve as mentors, lunch buddies and tutors. In addition to quality time spent in the classroom, Queens students built a community garden and started an afterschool garden club, the lacrosse team re-organized the media center and staffed an accelerated reader program, and the unviersity’s Health and Wellness Center collected and donated more than 650 books so each child could have at least one book of their own.

“We are very honored to be a Governor’s Medallion Award recipient,” said Pat Taft, director of the Center for Active Citizenship. “I am so proud of all of the Queens students for their hard work and many volunteer hours served.”

NC Campus Compact has played a role in the project. Since 2011, an AmeriCorps VISTA member from the NC Campus Compact VISTA program has been hosted by Queens to support the development of the Sedgefield partnership.

Queens also was named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, an annual award that highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing students on a lifelong path of civic engagement.

NC State University’s Feed the Pack Food Pantry hosted by the Center for Student Leadership Ethics and Public Service was also recently honored with two campus-wide awards. The pantry was launched in fall 2012 and has provided food to over 100 members of the NC State Community.

The Office of Institutional Equity & Diversty awarded the pantry the Outstanding Student Organization Award and a $500 cash prize. The nomination stated that “Every aspect of the Pantry, from the governing documents to the volunteers to the Student Leadership team, encourage diversity, inclusion, and equity to their very core. The students on the leadership team are dedicated to finding the best way possible to include all those in need in the community and to provide them with the assistance they deserve.” Read more here.

The pantry was also recognized by the Office of Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development during their recent “Celebrating the Engaged Campus” awards cerermony.

(l-r): Leslie Garvin, Lisa Keyne, Ned Brooks, Chad Fogleman

North Carolina Campus Compact has received the 2013 Service-Learning Award in honor of Ned Brooks given by the APPLES Service-Learning program. APPLES, a student-led, community engagement program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presents the award annually to recognize “the sustained and ongoing commitment of [an individual or organization] who has addressed the concerns and needs of North Carolina communities.”

NC Campus Compact was cited for its impact on service-learning opportunities at Carolina, the state, and region. The award was presented by Dr. Ned Brooks, former Associate Provost at UNC Chapel Hill who supported the development of APPLES and the Carolina Center for Public Service, and by Father Tony Rojas, who represented last year’s recipient, the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry.

“It’s a privilege to receive this award,” said Dr. Lisa Keyne, the Compact’s executive director. “And it is a privilege to work in partnership with APPLES and UNC-Chapel Hill. You are truly a model of engagement and a pillar of service in our state.”

In nominating the Compact, one recommender wrote, “North Carolina Campus Compact has invigorated our work through their resources, network and relationships. Without the work and people of NC Campus Compact, service-learning would not have grown to where it is today. We are so grateful for the dedicated people of this organization who serve higher education across the state.”

The APPLES program, now in its 23^rd year, sponsors a variety of educational experiences that link academics and public service, including alternative breaks, service-learning classes, and community-based internships. In addition to recognizing the Compact, APPLES also presented awards to an undergraduate student, a faculty member, a community partner, and an alumnus.

NC Campus Compact VISTAs shared success stories in their recent VISTA interim reports, including the opening of a new on-campus food pantry at Durham Tech Community College and a growing partnership between UNC-Asheville and a local alternative school. Many VISTAs supported MLK Days of Service and organized alternative breaks during this period as well.

Sally Parlier, Durham Technical Community College VISTA, led an effort to create the Durham Tech Campus Harvest (DTCH) Food Pantry. Since opening on January 22 the Food Pantry has had over 750 visits and served more than 150 individuals. They’ve also collected approximately 2,400 lbs of food and raised $1,761 in cash donations. Sally has also developed a new partnership with Jordan High School. Learn more and view a local news piece on the DTCH pantry at our VISTA VIEW Blog.

On April 9, fourteen North Carolina mayors affirmed the value of AmeriCorps in their cities by taking part in the first-ever Mayor’s Day of Recognition for National Service. Led by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Corporation for National and Community Service, the day of recognition is a chance to highlight the solution-oriented contributions national service members make every day. NC Campus Compact VISTAs are supporting projects in several of these North Carolina cities, and we thank these mayors for recognizing the value of national service. The fourteen North Carolina mayors join over 800 mayors from across the country.

Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane and local AmeriCorps members including Jennifer Evans (back row, third from left), NC Campus Compact VISTA at Wake Tech Community College. Read more at our VISTA VIEW Blog.

On March 19^th Campus Compact announced the 2013 Newman Civic Fellows.  Congratulations to the six  inspiring student leaders from North Carolina who are being recognized for demonstrating an investment in finding solutions for the challenges facing communities! They join 174 students from throughout the nation who were recommended by college and university presidents to acknowledge motivation and ability in public leadership. These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world.

Newman Civic Fellows awards are made in memory of Frank Newman, who dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform. Frank Newman’s leadership was selfless, optimistic, and determined, spanning an incredible career of more than five decades. At the core of Dr. Newman’s leadership was a belief in the power of individuals to make a difference and in the power of connection with others. The Newman Civic Fellows are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.  Learn more about Frank Newman here.

Below is the list of 2013 North Carolina Civic Fellows.   Click on the link to read their bio.

Paige Church, Catawba Valley Community College

Lizzy Appleby, Elon University

Erin Karpovich, High Point University

Joshua Mackey, Lenoir-Rhyne University

Korey Mercer, North Carolina Central University

Christina Neitzey, UNC Charlotte

Thanks to the KPMG Foundation for their generous sponsorship of the 2013 Newman Civic Fellows.