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  For Students: The CASE Award

Massachusetts Campus Compact has partnered with the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation to present three $1,000 awards a year recognizing the most innovative and promising use of the grant to establish or significantly further a partnership between the student (and his or her school) and a community non-profit organization. This grant is sponsored by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and seeks to foster academic-service learning at American colleges and universities.

Minimum requirements to qualify as an applicant
To be accepted for consideration, applications MUST satisfy the following:

    1. The applicant must be a full or part-time student in good academic standing, provide a letter from a faculty member who is willing to oversee the proposed project and agree to provide a report of the project.
    2. Have worked for at least one semester with the community partner with which the proposed project will be carried out. This partner must be identified in the application, must have been established for at least two years prior to the application and must supply a letter indicating agreement with the proposed participation by the student applicant.

Selection Criteria
Among qualified applications, a selection panel will choose a grant winner based upon the degree to which the proposed use of the funds is likely to produce or enhance the following: impact, partnership and academic service learning.

Application Deadline
December 11, 2009. To apply, please visit ServiceBook website.

Amanda Royce Tolland (University of Massachusetts Lowell) reflects on her Spring 2009 CASE Award project with Lowell Community Health Center

"During our time spent on the project this semester, we were able to learn a lot about service-learning. It is an experience of reciprocal learning. As physical therapy students, we recognize our unique civic obligation to share knowledge about health and wellness in the community. Service-learning is a method of building relationships too. Not only did this project allow us to discuss our beliefs about the importance of physical activity, but it also supplied us with an opportunity to learn from community members. We learned about the community needs and how to best communicate our message to them."