Bonner Leader Program

Bonner Leaders Program for Service Based Scholarships

The mission of the Bonner Leaders Program at Oxford College of Emory University is to transform the lives of students and members, the life of our campus, our local community, and the world through service and leadership. The Bonner Leaders program is designed to heighten the overall education of students by asking them to engage in ongoing service work and helping them develop the tools and knowledge necessary to make that work meaningful and lasting.

The Bonner Leaders program uses funds from federal work-study, AmeriCorps, and the Pierce Institute for Leadership and Community Engagement to create scholarship stipends for students who complete community service each week during their term of service.

The Bonner Leader program has a core group of students who commit to completing the required hours of community service during their term. Bonner Leader students work on issues such as improving educational opportunities and fighting hunger through community programs that focus on literacy issues, mentoring and nutrition/anti-hunger initiatives. These students/members also participate in regular training and reflection activities sponsored by Oxford College, our community partners, and the Bonner Foundation.

The two-year term of service includes both direct service and training and enrichment activities. Training and enrichment activities include group meetings, issue-specific trainings, reflection sessions, and leadership development may comprise up to 20% of a member's total hours.

Bonner Leaders Goals

For the Student:

• To provide access to a college education for students with high financial need.
• To afford students the opportunity to enhance and use their abilities, talents, and leadership to serve others while in college.
• To create a supportive community of students on campus whose common focus on community service gives them a sense of purpose and meaning. 

For the Community:

• To channel the energies of college students, faculty, and staff to continue to improve and expand upon the quality and nature of services offered to the community.
• To break down the barriers between college and community leading to improved communication and collaboration between the two.
  • To challenge and support the college to create a culture of service with a variety of avenues and degrees of service experiences.
  • To provide a structure to engage students in an ethic of enduring service to the community and meaningful acts of citizenship.
  • For more information about Oxford College's Bonner Leaders program, please contact Emily Penprase (emily.penprase@emory.edu). 

For the College:

Further information about the Bonner Leaders Program and The Bonner Foundation can be found at http://www.bonner.org/campus/blp/home.htm.

Are you Interested in applying for a Bonner Leader position to begin in the fall of 2009? If so, click here to apply on-line but don't wait the deadline to apply is July 31st, 2009!