Tuesday, October 14, 2008

UIS students to take part in AmeriCorps Opening Day events

Sixteen students from the University of Illinois at Springfield will be among AmeriCorps members from around the state who take part in the 2008 AmeriCorps Opening Day ceremonies, Thursday, October 16, in downtown Springfield.

The Midwest Campus Compact Citizen-Scholar (M3C) Fellows AmeriCorps Program is a 10-state initiative that creates opportunities for students to work together as agents of civic change in their local communities and on their campuses.

Morning activities at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center will involve the students in a service project assembling CPR and first aid information packets for the American Red Cross. In the afternoon, students will collect non-perishable food items for the Central Illinois Food Bank as they march to the State Capitol, escorted by members of the Springfield Fire Department.

The students also will hear remarks from a number of speakers, including Scott Kimmel, executive director, and Rosemary Keefe, commissioner, of the Serve Illinois Commission; Springfield Mayor Timothy Davlin; State Representatives Lisa Dugan and Richard Brauer; State Senator William Haine; former AmeriCorps member Patti Kurtz; and Parkland College Director of Student Life Tom Caulfield. Jerry Lambert, from WICS TV20, will serve as master of ceremonies.

See more information about the Midwest Campus Compact Citizen-Scholar Fellows Program.

For information about UIS' Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center contact Center Director Kelly Thompson at 206-8448 or volunteer@uis.edu.