Benefactors of the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards, from left at bottom, Gerald Robinson '54, Margot Robinson '55, Helen Appel '55 and Robert Appel '55, pose with this year's student winners, from left top, Nahmjin Kim, Susan Crisfield and Shelly Burnside. Jon Reis/PHOTOLINK
Cornell students, led by the staff of the Public Service Center, celebrated National Volunteer Week from April 21-27. The highlights of the week included formal presentation of two service awards.
On April 26, the Community Partnership Fund Board (CPFB), a program of the Public Service Center, honored its 1995-96 grant recipients. CPFB seeks to foster student leadership and social responsibility by encouraging students to take action against social problems, and provides monetary awards to advance such projects. This year's recipients include:
·HydroSummer '96 -- a grassroots international project established to introduce micro-hydroelectric power generation to the Dominican Republic.
·Designers for a Better Community -- Working in cooperation with Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS), students will focus on revitalizing and landscaping a rehabilitated home.
·Legal Readers -- a children's literacy program started at the Cornell Law School with the help of the school's service organization, Phi Delta Phi.
·Mental Health Association and Sigma Gamma Rho -- Sorority members worked on a campaign to inform the Ithaca community about people with mental health concerns.
·The Partnership -- mobilizes student volunteers to work on a variety of construction projects for low-income families.
On April 27, the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards were presented to three students. This award was established by alumni Gerald Robinson '54 and Margot Robinson '55, and Robert Appel '53 and Helen Appel '55. The Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award was created to recognize and honor students who have had significant involvement in community service by providing support for their projects which address a community's social needs or problems. Three students are selected and each receives $1,000 to further a community service project that he or she has initiated and proposed. This year's winners are:
Shelly Burnside -- Burnside's idea to create a computer publishing center at the Literacy Volunteers of Tompkins County came to her as a result of tutoring a man in danger of losing his job if he did not improve his reading skills. One method she used in teaching him to read was a "Language Experience" story in which the man described an event while she recorded the story. Burnside's proposal is to enhance the computer skills of the students by setting up a computer center to publish these Language Experience stories and other student works on the Internet.
Susan Crisfield -- Crisfield became involved with Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services while volunteering with Community Unity to rebuild/repair local houses. Her proposal is to link the efforts of INHS and students of horticulture and landscape architecture to rebuild the yards of the newly refurbished homes, thus increasing the value of the neighborhood. She has been assisted by other Cornell students and faculty, including Sarah Wilkinson, Jennifer Sitts, Catherine Baker, Joy Grefrath and Charles Ufford; and professors Paula Horrigan and Irene Lekstutis.
Nahmjin Kim -- Kim has volunteered in the Ithaca Youth Bureau One-to-One Program since 1994. Her proposal is to create a four-week afternoon science camp for eight to 10 children and introduce them to various fields in the sciences, demonstrate the sciences' relevance to the children's lives and spark an interest in the various sciences via hands-on experience.
For more information on the Community Partnership Fund Board or the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award, contact the Public Service Center at 255-1148.