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2011 SESSION

11103242D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 684
Offered January 13, 2011
Commending Emory & Henry College.
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Patrons-- Johnson, Carrico, Crockett-Stark, Kilgore, Morefield, Nutter, Phillips and Shuler; Senators: Wampler, Puckett and Reynolds
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WHEREAS, Emory & Henry College, a national leader in student volunteerism, was one of six colleges and universities chosen from 780 applicants nationwide to receive a 2009 President’s Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service; and

WHEREAS, the Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency created to encourage volunteerism in communities across the United States, and since 2006, the organization has compiled a President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll; and

WHEREAS, Emory & Henry College received the President’s Award, the highest distinction among those institutions selected annually for the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, in the category of “Service to Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances”; and

WHEREAS, as the local community faced a transition from a manufacturing-based economy to one based on cultural and recreational activities, students and faculty members at Emory & Henry College decided to take the initiative and create opportunities in the community to empower local residents as they dealt with the economic changes; and

WHEREAS, in 2009 a stunning 80 percent of Emory & Henry College students participated in community service projects, donating countless hours to make an incredible difference in the lives of local residents and at-risk youth and strengthen the local community; and

WHEREAS, Emory & Henry students and faculty members reached out to tutor at-risk youth in the community and led the Highlands Project for Public Education, an innovative afterschool program where participating elementary and middle school students showed improved grades and decreased behavioral problems; and

WHEREAS, students and faculty members also became involved with Habitat for Humanity and built a “House of Hope” in just six weeks after raising nearly $26,000 from the college community and area churches; and

WHEREAS, committed to training a new generation of leaders in public service, Emory & Henry College recently launched a graduate program to provide leadership training in public service and nonprofit sustainability; and

WHEREAS, Emory & Henry College students and faculty members have demonstrated the positive difference that can come to local communities from harnessing the energy, innovative spirit, and compassion of students; and

WHEREAS, as the first Virginia college or university to receive a Presidential Award, Emory & Henry College’s national leadership in service-learning and civic engagement serves as a model for other Virginia institutions of higher education; and

WHEREAS, Emory & Henry College’s receipt of the President’s Award is one of numerous accolades the institution has garnered recently, a manifestation of the institution’s commitment to excellence in all its endeavors; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Emory & Henry College on its receipt of a 2009 President’s Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Rosalind Reichard, president of Emory & Henry College, as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for the College’s inspirational commitment to community service.