Community Engagement Center Honored for Assistance to Local Youth

Published: January 02, 2013 | Read Time: 2 minutes

For what has become a legacy of service, learning and community partnership, Southern Utah University’s Community Engagement Center (CEC) has received an award of appreciation from the Cedar Band of Paiutes for its many efforts in serving the community’s youth.

Through a partnership with the Paiute Drug Elimination Tutoring Program, student volunteers from SUU’S CEC have contributed countless hours over the past several years, organizing and staffing tutoring sessions for children, ages five to 15. The tribe formal recognition of these efforts is a gesture of thanks and recognition for volunteers past and present.

“Our students have benefited greatly from your combined efforts” reads the plaque presented to the CEC that acknowledges the center’s enduring dedication to the tutoring program. “We look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.” 

Four days a week, SUU’s student volunteers host tutoring sessions at the Paiute Tribal Center where they help young students with reading, writing and homework of all kinds. They also organize games and other fun activities that encourage kids to stay engaged in learning. Beyond academic assistance, the program seeks to provide young students with good role models and mentors that will encourage them not only to excel in their present studies but to develop a life-long love of learning.

Pam Branin, Associate Director of the CEC, is pleased with the program’s multilateral success, and says that while it was designed to help local youth, the program is no less beneficial to the college students who volunteer their time.

“The rewards of service are innumerable to our students, who benefit so much from the experiences they gain both professionally and personally.”

SUU’s Community Engagement Center (CEC) promotes lifelong learning and service through campus and community opportunities that uphold the university’s core values of academic excellence, personal and social responsibility and transformative learning.

The CEC maintains partnerships with more than 70 local and national organizations who work through the center to locate volunteers. The center also sponsors student-led programming and helps place volunteers in service opportunities that align with their talents and interests.

For more information or to become involved with the SUU Community Engagement Center, contact the office at 435-865-8335, visit suu.edu/siel/cec/ or check out the center’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/SUUCEC.

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Contact Information:

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