Roll up your sleeves and help get DCPS buildings ready for our children this Fall! Helpers are needed for building repair work and to beautify school grounds. This is a great volunteer opportunity for families and community residents to get involved in helping improve our neighborhood schools.

For more information, download the flyer below and check out the DCPS website at: http://www.k12.dc.us/dcps/home.html.

Washington, D.C. (Aug. 19, 2005) ? Before they begin classes, more than 500 American University freshmen will contribute more than 10,000 hours of community service at 46 sites around the D.C. area, rebuilding homes, preparing meals, cleaning parks, and working with children and the disabled.

Some of the sites and projects students will work on include:

o Wilson High School in Tenleytown; students will be making a garden
o Hart Middle School in SE; students will be preparing the school grounds/classrooms
o Sarah's Circle; students will help the elderly with craft projects and a BBQ
o Goodwill Car Wash in Arlington, Va. on Columbia Pike

These sites and others are open to media. For a full list of sites or for other media assistance, contact Clark Gregor in the AU Media Relations at (202) 885-5950.

AU?s Freshman Service Experience (FSE) brings new students together to build and encourage a strong foundation of volunteerism, immersing students quickly into American University and Washington, D.C., and helping students make friends before classes begin. FSE is in its 15th year, having started in 1991 with only 30 students. Located in Washington, D.C., American University (www.american.edu) is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the U.S. and more than 150 countries and providing opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nation's capital and around the world. ###

The National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) is nationally recognized for serving over 800 members and an extended network of over 15,000 non-members who are teachers, professors, principals, deans, directors of service-learning programs, professionals in career development and youth employment, counselors, directors of internships and cooperative education programs, school-to-work coordinators, superintendents, college presidents, researchers, and policymakers.

NSEE is a leader in developing and disseminating principles of good practice and innovations in experienced-based learning.

Join NSEE in Philadelphia this October for an exciting conference full of education and networking opportunities. Check out the conference website for a listing of program offerings, speakers, and events.

One CoRAL Network sub-grantee, Georgetown University, made the top 30 (#26).

Congratulations Hoyas!!!

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.