Contact: Simeon Moss
Office: 607-255-3630
E-Mail: sfm4@cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The recipients of Cornell University's 2003 Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award were announced during a dinner and awards ceremony April 4 on campus. The award recognizes and honors students at Cornell who have had significant involvement in community service by providing support for their projects, which address a community's social needs.
Seven semifinalists for the award attended the ceremony held in the Yale-Princeton Room of Cornell's Statler Hotel, and four of them were named finalists and award winners. The finalists were Lauren Jacobs '05, Ifunanya (Funa) Maduka '04, Jennifer Harber '03 and Rebecca Vichniac '04. Semifinalists included Kerry Neijstrom '03, Edward Pettitt '04 and Bethany Tong '05. Finalists receive $1,500 each, to further a community service project that they have proposed and initiated.
This award was established by Cornell alumni Gerald Robinson '54, Margot Robinson '55, Robert Appel '53 and Helen Appel '55. All applications for the award are reviewed by a selection committee composed of alumni, members of the community and representatives from community agencies, students and university staff members from the Cornell Public Service Center.
Listed below are this year's recipients and descriptions of their projects. All photos copyright © Cornell University Click on the images for high-resolution versions.
 |
 |
The Reading Room opened more than two years ago as a brand new program at GIAC, and eight months later, the Math Room was opened. Since then, the two programs have provided hands-on academic enrichment experiences in reading, math and science to children at GIAC. The main goals of the rooms are to increase elementary school students' levels of literacy and numeracy and to increase students' enjoyment of learning itself by making learning hands-on and fun. "This grant money will allow us to sustain and extend the programs we currently offer. Without it, the programs may fade away," said Harber and Vichniac. "We will continue to be able to serve second- through fifth-grade students every weekday afternoon, providing them either with literacy or science-based projects or with the opportunity for open exploration of the materials in the two resource rooms. We will be able to extend our services more than we have so far to the pre-K through first-grade students at GIAC by offering them structured literacy, math and science-based projects several times per week."
 |
Dump & Run aims to reduce the trash on campus caused by students leaving items behind at the close of the spring semester. Volunteers will put out collection boxes in every residence hall, fraternity and sorority during study break at the end of the semester to collect reusable items. The boxes will be collected during finals, and items will be sorted and stored over the summer. During Orientation Week, on Aug. 23, Dump & Run will sponsor a yard sale, where the items will be sold at very low prices. All proceeds will go to Loaves & Fishes, a local soup kitchen, and what is not sold will be donated to local charities. "Dump & Run aims to reduce waste, sell items to students at stellar prices, benefit a local organization, cut university costs and educate the student body about the need to conserve and reuse," said Jacobs. "It can be summed up best with its catch motto: 'We turn trash into cash for nonprofits.'"
 |
Through the use of computers, approximately 20 underserved elementary and middle school students will work together to publish a publication that will be shared at the end of the academic year with the Ithaca community. "What sets this project apart is that this initiative is in essence a computer literacy program," said Maduka. "By using their imaginations and working creatively onThe IthaKids Journal , students will learn important computer skills and familiarize themselves with various computer programs." Students will work on the publication in the new computer room at Southside Community Center.
Semifinalist Edward Pettitt was honored for his work with the Big Brothers Big Sisters North Campus Program Houses Project, which will match children from the Ithaca community with Cornell students currently residing in the North Campus program houses. Kerry Neijstrom was selected as a semifinalist for her work on the Parkside Reading and Literacy Center, a reading room she is working to establish for underserved children in Ithaca's Parkside community. Bethany Tong was honored for her work in establishing a chapter of Let's Get Ready! at Cornell; Let's Get Ready! is an SAT-prep program with outreach to minorities and low-income families in the local community.
For more information on the award, contact the Cornell Public Service Center at (607) 255-7882 or view this Web page: http://www.psc.cornell.edu/resources_recognition.htm .
-30-