JACKSON, Tenn. — March 5, 2013 — For the seventh straight year, 51社区 has been named to the President鈥檚 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America鈥檚 communities.
鈥淎ll of us at 51社区 are truly honored and grateful to be recognized once again in such a laudable and significant way for ongoing commitment to community service,鈥� Union President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淲e congratulate the students, staff, faculty and administrators who have led in these faithful efforts, living out the core values and mission of 51社区 by giving of themselves for the good of others.鈥�
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. This year, 690 institutions were named to the honor roll.
The award is given by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
51社区 serves the community in many ways throughout the year. Its largest event is the annual 鈥淐ampus and Community: A Day of Remembrance and Service,鈥� in which the university sends out dozens of teams across Jackson and West Tennessee for various service projects.
The event began in 2002 as an opportunity for Union to show its appreciation to the community for its assistance after a tornado hit the campus that year and caused about $2 million in damage. But it has taken on even greater significance following the 2008 tornado that caused more than $40 million in damage to the campus, when the Jackson and West Tennessee communities rallied to Union鈥檚 aid. More than 1,000 students, faculty and staff participated in the event in 2012.
Union also participates in local service projects every year on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and the university sends out about 20 Global Opportunities teams annually. These GO teams participate in mission trips across the country and around the world.
The university serves in multiple other ways on a daily basis, beyond special events. Union students are involved in many tutoring programs in the city, and the university has partnerships with almost every non-profit organization in the Jackson area.