Laureate and Walden University begin a lasting partnership with the Friendship Academy

On the morning of October 2nd, 2010 over one hundred volunteers from all over the Baltimore area gathered together in front of the Friendship Academy in Canton. The volunteers all sported baby blue t-shirts supplied by Walden University. This volunteer event was part of Walden’s 5th annual Global Day of Service and the kick off of a partnership between Friendship Academy and Walden University. Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) worked with Friendship Academy to identify their most needed projects and connect them with Laureate/Walden.

Students at Friendship Academy cleaned out their lockers on the preceding Friday afternoon in anticipation for their school’s new transformation. The volunteers were split up into numerous teams to tackle the projects of the day which were led by Molly A. McConnell, Marketing Manager, Online Communities for Walden University. The volunteers’ tasks included cleaning out cluttered rooms, organizing donated school supplies, painting four floors of lockers, painting the entire gymnasium and detailing the hallways with cheetah paw prints (the academy’s mascot). Eager volunteers got right to work painting the lockers a bright shade of the academy’s colors, blue and gold, while another group sang together as they painted the gymnasium a bright, new shade of gold. Many of the academy’s own students joined the volunteers to work on projects throughout the day. The whole spirit of the school seemed to be uplifted by the new paint colors. Principal Chitamawe Daka Mulwanda, the staff and students were all very appreciative and excited about the volunteers’ hard work.

On October 27th, 2010, Walden University held their annual Social Change Conference discussing the social issue of “Volunteerism: Encouraging Individuals to Effect Societal Change.”  BVU’s Director of Community Engagement,  Jim Dickinson, was part of the discussion panel in the conference which had an audience of over five hundred people across the country. Walden University summarized that during the hour long conference, “the panelists explored how to bring widely diverse missions to life and how to ignite volunteerism to fulfill those missions”. There were also many inspiring stories shared about people who have done incredible things through volunteering.

Walden University continued their partnership with the Friendship Academy on November 11th, 2010, when sixteen Laureate/Walden volunteers returned to the academy for an onsite skilled volunteer opportunity led by Kelly Coleman, Faculty Recruiter for Walden University. The Laureate/Walden volunteers came from all over the country as well as internationally to Baltimore for a three day human resources conference. During the volunteer event, the human resource professionals worked in pairs to visit all of the high school classrooms throughout the school. In each classroom they conducted an exercise which helped students identify their own personal values. The students came up with some great questions about their own values and shared stories from their lives. At the same time as this volunteer opportunity, another ten Laureate/Walden human resources leaders stayed at the Laureate headquarters and provided free human resource consulting to three local non-profit organizations. The volunteers worked with the non-profit organizations to discuss topics including employee performance management, recruiting diverse, highly qualified candidates, and effectively managing seasonal positions.

BVU continues to work with Laureate/Walden to indentify meaningful service opportunities at the Friendship Academy and other great organizations in Baltimore.

About BVU

BVU inspires volunteerism by connecting motivated people and businesses with the nonprofits and communities that need them most. BVU serves as the primary resource for recruiting, developing and organizing volunteers in the Greater Baltimore area.

About Laureate

Laureate Education, Inc. is a trusted global leader in providing access to high-quality, innovative institutions of higher education. The Laureate International Universities network includes more than 50 accredited campus-based and online universities. More than 600,000 Laureate students are part of an academic community that spans 24 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Laureate universities offer more than 130 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs in fields including architecture, art, business, culinary arts, design, education, engineering, health sciences, hospitality, information technology, law and medicine. President William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, serves as honorary chancellor of the Laureate International Universities network, a role in which he offers advice on social responsibility, youth leadership and increasing access to higher education.

About Walden University

The Walden community is as distinctive as it is diverse. Walden University’s community is made up of students and faculty, alumni and friends, national experts and visiting scholars, and a growing list of academic, corporate, and government partners who share our commitment to transforming our world through higher education.

About Friendship Academy

Friendship Academy of Science and Technology (FAST) helps students become masterful at acquiring knowledge and putting it to use. FAST teaches the most current technologies through a standards-driven, project-based curriculum that gives students a sense of confidence and leads them to success and higher education.

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