"We are honored and excited that Nadinne Cruz will join us and share with us her insight and knowledge from her nationally distinguished work and dedication to building social capital through service learning. I am sure the CoRAL Network community will be most eager to hear her thoughts on the university- community synergies sparked by service learning and its impact on urban communities ," CoRAL Executive Director Elizabeth Shrader said announcing the 2005 Keynote Speaker.

Nadinne Cruz has served as the Director of Stanford University's Haas Center and, as Lang Visiting Professor of Social Change at Swarthmore College, piloted service-learning courses in the political science department. As executive director of the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), she provided vision and leadership to community-based learning programs in Minneapolis- St.Paul, Latin America, Scandinavia, and other parts of the world. Among her many awards and honors, Ms. Cruz was most recently named the 2005 Alec Dickson Servant Leader Award recipient by the National Youth Leadership Council.

The CoRAL Network looks forward to welcoming Nadinne Cruz to the Nation's Capital!

Reminder: Deadline for submissions is fast approaching! Submit your proposal by March 15th! Registration deadline is April 15th.

Incarcerated individuals are uniquely connected to their immediate and extended families; neighborhoods, and communities. When one individual loses his or her freedom, the effects are rippling and catastrophic. Our youth are the first victims. Come out and learn about a seldom-discussed topic. Information is power. Let's improve the quality of life throughout the Sixth District, by remaining informed.

Guest Speakers will present on the following subjects:

* Statistics on the number of children whose parents are incarcerated and its impact.

* Psychological trauma resulting from parental incarceration/abandonment.

* Behavioral Issues.

* Intervention strategies that work.

When: March 12, 2005

Where: Merritt
5002 Hayes Street NE
Washington DC

City Year of Washington, DC, is a proud member of the AmeriCorps network, that unites diverse groups ages 17 to 24 year-old for a year of full-time, team- based community service. One of fifteen City Year sites located across the country, City Year Washington, DC provides critically needed services to some of DC's most underserved children and youth.

The young idealists who serve in our program, called "corps members," deliver substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention education, provide literacy tutoring and academic support, organize and implement leadership development opportunities for middle school students, and engage children and adults in transformative community service projects to renovate schools, community centers, and homeless shelters. This year, the 50 City Year corps members serving in Washington, DC will provide more than 85,000 hours of service to the DC community, work with more than 5,400 children, and engage more than 1,000 adults in volunteer community renovation projects.

The City Year AOL Civic Engagement Team is looking for volunteers to participate.

If you are interested and need more information please contact: Erin Grenier 202.742.7394 or email egrenier@cityyear.org

Nomination deadline is April 30, 2005

US college students entering their sophomore or junior year can take advantage of Oxfam America's leadership training and become skilled and knowledgeable agents of change. Exposed to the international development issues that direct Oxfam's work, CHANGE Leaders use their new skills and insights to run Oxfam campaigns on their campuses and in their local communities.

Selected students are required to participate in a training in Boston the last week of July, initiate a campaign on their campus and communicate regularly with Oxfam staff and each other about the work they are undertaking. All costs for travel and the training will be covered in full by Oxfam.

PS - This year you can nominate students on your campus or others by going to the Tell a Friend section of our website at http://www.oxfamamerica.org/change. Students will be sent an email informing them of this opportunity at your request.

For further information you can contact 1-800-77- OXFAM ext. 464 or email CHANGE@oxfamamerica.org

The National Collegiate Global Women's and Human Rights Conference will connect the dots between the need to build a national constituency to increase family planning and health funding aid, to ratify international treaties for human rights and the environment, to combat sweatshops, and to promote non-violence and peace.

Workshops and panels will include student leaders, and leaders in the women's right, anti-slavery, anti- globalization, human rights, peace and environmental movements.

For additional information about this conference, see the National Collegiate Global Women's and Human Rights Conference web site at www.feministcampus.org, or contact Crystal Lander at 1-866-444-3652.

Have you been working on a community- based project? Share your story! Call for Papers deadline is March 15, 2005! Visit our conference webpage for details on submission requirements.

Panel, paper, workshop, and poster presentations on the following topics are welcome:

*Successful schools and educational innovations for K-12, higher education, and adult learners

*Healthy families/ healthy communities

*Livable wages, employment opportunities and job training

*Affordable housing for all

*Building and preserving diverse communities

*Using culture and the arts to promote community development

*Faith and spirituality as resources for community building

If you would like to share any announcements from your organization or campus with the CoRAL Network community, send a brief blurb to kcarter@coralnetwork.org by close of business each Thursday for inclusion in the following Monday's Newsbits.

Please note that submissions MUST be about local events, news, opportunities and activities that are related to community affairs in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Northern Virginia.