BLINN STUDENTS TO GIVE BACK WITH SIXTH ANNUAL BLINN BLITZ
Students from Blinn’s Brenham and Bryan campuses will give back to the community Friday, April 17, with the sixth annual Blinn Blitz.
The day of community service has become an annual tradition for Blinn College students, and has grown from 40 participants in 2010 to as many as 263 students. Last year, Blinn students assisted the city of Brenham, First United Methodist Church, Brenham Humane Services, Krause Elementary and Grace Community Fellowship with various projects, including cleaning up various city parks, assistant at local churches and schools and helping residents with household chores.
Freshman Kassaundra Wellman was among the students painting goal posts and performing maintenance at Hohlt Park last year.
“I always volunteer when I can,” Wellman said. “Being out here is a great chance to help out and give back to the community.”
Blinn’s commitment to community and civic service is spearheaded by the Service Learning Program, which combines community service with classroom instruction or student club activities. Service Learning involves students in activities that address local needs while developing their academic or professional skills and commitment to their community.
Blinn students have documented more than 456,000 hours of Service Learning and community service hours, valued at more than $9.1 million by the Points of Light Foundation. Other Service Learning projects include Give Kids a Smile, in which Blinn dental hygiene students, local dentists and community volunteers offer free dental exams, X-rays, cleanings, sealants and oral health education to children from low-income families; and converting used cooking oil into eco-friendly biodiesel, then donating that biodiesel to Brenham ISD to utilize in their fleet of school buses.
Blinn was recertified with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement for Teaching 2015 Community Engagement Classification after initially earning the recognition in 2010. An independent policy and research center, the Carnegie Foundation encourages colleges and universities to become more deeply engaged, to improve teaching and learning and to generate socially responsive knowledge to benefit communities. It selected colleges based on institutional practices of community engagement demonstrating alignment of mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices.
Blinn is one of 12 Texas colleges and universities to have earned the Community Engagement Classification, including just one other community college. In all, 361 colleges and universities across the nation have earned the classification.
“Blinn students not only have a real desire to complete their academic education, but to learn how to contribute in their communities,” said Dr. Greg Phillips, dean of Instructional Administration. “Our students and faculty have responded to the call to service with a significant commitment to their communities.”
In addition to the Carnegie Classification, Blinn has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest accolade an educational institution can receive from the federal government for its commitment to service and civic engagement, five of the last seven years.
Story Courtesy of Blinn College
