2008 Michigan JRCPA winner announced:

Portland State University and the City of Portland win the National-JRCPA service learning award at CNCS meeting in Atlanta.

The inaugural winner of the US-national Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration was announced at the concluding plenary session of the annual meeting of the Corporation for National and Community Service, by President Jimmy Carter & Mrs. Rosalynn Carter on June 3, 2008. The winner is the Community Watershed Stewardship Program, a partnership of the city of Portland and Portland State University, with 112 community-based organizations in greater Portland. In the past decade, over 27,000 community volunteers have donated a quarter million hours to install 80,000 plants and restore 50 acres of watershed along two miles of river. Individual projects have been led and supported by 700 students working as part of class projects, resulting in two master's theses and three research articles.

In his remarks, President Carter praised participants and repeated his assessment that the award program is a "sterling jewel" in higher education. In presenting the award, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter said: "We are always inspired by the work of these students and faculty with their community partners and this event has had outstanding examples." Additional finalists, the Tutor Connection Project from California State University, San Marcos and the San Diego CountySchool system and the San Diego County child services agency and included the Computer Assisted Debate project from Emory University, the Atlanta Housing Authority and Atlanta Public School system.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation recognizes the best volunteer work of university students, faculty and staff as they partner with community groups and community agencies. Such recognition is a powerful motivator, and the winners of the award provide a vivid picture of excellence for other applicants each year. By applying uniform standards to award selection, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award, and the Carter Academic-Service Entrepreneur grant recognize the best academic community service programs and inspire others to excel and achieve the status of a Carter Certified Partnership. More information can be found at www.jrcpf.org.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. For further information, please visit the Foundation's Web site at www.wkkf.org .