This grant is part of the Building Partnerships for a Better California: Youth to College Initiative, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) through the Learn and Serve Higher Education Program.
Humboldt State is one of four campuses in California to serve in this capacity, joining UCLA, the University of San Diego, and CSU Fresno.
To meet its goal of supporting college readiness for 3,000 youth, the HSU Service Learning Center is partnering locally with Youth Serve AmeriCorps, Manila Community Center, Academy of the Redwoods, and Eureka City Schools.
Various projects involve HSU students tutoring and mentoring local youth, in addition to engaging youth and college students in joint service learning activities that provide opportunities for all to develop an ethic of civic responsibility and community participation. Youth will work closely with college students and be able to visit HSU, becoming more familiar with campus culture and developing social connections and academic skills that will aid their transition to college. Campus partners who are supporting this youth-focused community work include the Educational Talent Search Program, Youth Educational Services (Y.E.S.), and Student Academic Services Outreach Program (SASOP).
One of the many highlights of this program will include the development of service learning activities and events involving college students and youth, and coordinated with campus and community partners for Martin Luther King, Jr. national day of service.
In addition to this local work, HSU will also serve as the lead university providing training to 3 or more colleges in the region, so that similar service learning programs can foster college readiness among youth from disadvantaged situations throughout northern California. HSU's Service Learning Center plans to host its first annual Youth to College Regional Service Learning and Community Partnership Training in Spring 2007.
For more information, please contact Mike Cipra, Service Learning Community Partner Liaison, at (707) 826-4963, or mcc21@humboldt.edu