Press Release

Oglethorpe University Awarded National
Community Service Distinction

ATLANTA – For the second straight year, Oglethorpe University has been named to the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for distinguished community service and for exemplary service to disadvantaged youth. 

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. Schools receiving distinguished service recognition provided exceptional community service over the past year, contributing their time, resources, energy, skills – and intellect – to serve America.

Over the past year Oglethorpe University’s Center for Civic Engagement has sponsored and organized the university’s service efforts. As part of new student orientation the freshman class learned how to give back by volunteering at PATH Academy. The Oglethorpe community then joined Hands On Atlanta volunteers for Hands On Atlanta Day, serving Centennial Place Elementary, the Villages of East Lake and Rivers Alive. The men’s basketball team was selected by the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta as the winner of the John Swain Volunteer of the Year Award. Oglethorpe’s Center for Civic Engagement also announced partnerships with four Atlanta Public Schools. Each of these partnerships offers unique opportunities for Oglethorpe students to give back while learning about the needs of a community.

Over the past year the Gulf Coast region has been an area of continued special focus for the university. Over 70 Oglethorpe students volunteered their last week of winter break and their spring break to provide support to the Gulf Coast region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Over a long weekend soccer coach Jon Akin and five Oglethorpe soccer players held a soccer camp in Edgar, Louisiana, for 60 children living in two FEMA Transitional Trailer Communities.

“Oglethorpe University has set a strong example for college-level civic engagement,” said Stephen Goldsmith, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that works to foster a culture of volunteering and service in America. “Many people and communities have been improved because Oglethorpe and its students identified some of society’s most pressing needs and got involved.”