For immediate release: April 17, 2012

BLOOMSBURG —Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fourth time for the institution’s commitment to bettering the community through community service and service learning. BU was honored for three specific projects: the Empty Bowls Banquet, SHARE and the Food Recovery Program.

• The Empty Bowls Banquet, held each April, is the largest single-day fundraising event for the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard, raising at least $4,000 each year for nearly a decade. The Bloomsburg Food Cupboard serves about 300 families each week.
• Through SHARE – Students Helping Adolescents Reach Excellence – more than 70 Bloomsburg University students travel to 11 sites, 10 schools and one shelter each semester to mentor and tutor more than 200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The BU mentors serve as role models who can help participants reach goals and increase their expectations for the future.
• The Food Recovery program has redirected about 18 tons of food during the past five years to fight hunger in Columbia County, in partnership with Aramark, BU’s dining services provider. Nearly 200 students who are members of Greek organizations, athletic teams, living and learning communities and campus service clubs, repackage the leftover food from campus dining facilities each weeknight. Food is distributed through Bloomsburg Food Cupboard; the faith-based social services agency, AGAPE; and The Women’s Center.

BU students tallied a total of 81,020 hours of community service, including service learning, during 2011, coordinated by the SOLVE volunteer office.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. A total of 513 institutions were named to the honor roll, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. BU serves approximately 10,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.