Congrats to the Spring 2009 Recipient

Washington DC - Inequalities in Education - Alternative Break Group, received $1000 from the Eagle Endowment to continue their efforts in the District's public school system.

Past Recipients

Martin Luther King Jr. Award - Winter 2009

The Council decided on December 8 to award three $1000 grants to the following projects:

AU Community Garden –

Ecosense is working with facilities to create an AU Community Garden which will be located behind Nebraska Hall. Funds for the garden itself will be coming from a National Wildlife Federation grant. The Eagle Endowment Award will be used to create a community education component for the garden which will bring DC public school students to campus to teach them about the importance of ecological sustainability. The group will then followup with the schools to ensure that environmentalism is included in the curriculum and school gardens are pursued.

Latino Youth Conference-

The Latino & American Student Organization will be hosting their 10th annual Latino Youth Conference which will bring high school students from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia to AU in late March to learn about higher education. The MLK Award will be used to purchase flash drives for students that will be loaded with the conference materials. Not only will this be a lasting resource for the students to use while in school, but it will also reduce the massive amount of paper typically used for printing conference materials.

Community Learners Advancing Spanish and English-

CLASE will continue building a partnership between students and Aramark/Bon Appetit workers at American University. The program pairs students with a background or interest in Spanish with workers who want to improve their English language skills. The program already has been working with 40 workers and is increasing its coordination with TOEFL to further develop its curriculum and with the International Development Program Student Association to offer citizenship classes. The Award will be used to purchase additional teaching materials for the program.

The MLK Award was officially presented on January 15, 2009 during the Marian Wright Edelman event at the annual Poynter Lecture. Click here for pictures of the award ceremony.

Freshman Service Experience Award - Fall 2008

Barry Farm Recreation Center -

The Barry Farm Recreation Center group is working in Anacostia to revitalize the Recreation Center in the community. This includes landscaping, providing new equipment, and the creation of a long-term recycling program. The group has pledged to visit the community at least monthly and plans to host a neighborhood event to officially launch their program.

Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY) -

The FLY group plans to help launch a youth entrepeneurial project that will provide youth from Anacostia with an opportunity to learn how to create and run a business. The business will revolve around selling clothing items, especially t-shirts, that are reflective of the youths' community. Youth will design, market, and sell products both locally and through an online store.

Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition -

The SSIHC group will be creating a technology education program in Silver Spring. The project involves obtaining donated computers for the center and training adults in programs such as Microsoft Office and Windows. The program aims to provide basic job skills needed to succeed in a modern workplace.