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KING’S NAMED TO PRESIDENTIAL HONOR ROLL FOR SERVICE
One of only 16 institutions in PA to be named for three consecutive years

February 9, 2009 - The Corporation for National and Community Service has named King's College to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts. King's is the only Wyoming Valley institution of higher learning and one of only sixteen in Pennsylvania to be named to the Honor Roll each year since its 2006 launch.
                                                              
"The commitment to service on a local, national and international basis was established at King’s by its founders, the Holy Cross Congregation.  The College is proud to report that during the 2007-08 academic year, King’s students combined for more than 92,000 service hours, the equivalent of more than 10 years,”  said Rev. Thomas O'Hara, CSC, president of King's. "We take seriously the words of our founding President, Fr. James Connerton, CSC, 'A graduate of King's College not only knows how to make a living, but how to live.'"

The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

Almost seven out of every 10 King’s students participated in service efforts last year and the average student committed more than 50 hours. Coordinated through the College's Office of Volunteer Services (OVS) and the Shoval Center for Community Engagement and Learning, the volunteer efforts took place primarily at sites in the Wyoming Valley. Through the College's SERVE (Students Engaged in Reflective Volunteer Experiences) trips, students also completed service opportunities across the United States and in several foreign countries.

“In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever,” said Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  “College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency established to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations.

The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

King's College is a Catholic College sponsored by the congregation of Holy Cross.

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