(The following press release comes to us courtesy of the Corporation for Community and National Service.)
December 4, 2006
Washington, D.C. – ABC-TV’s Wednesday night “20/20″ broadcast turned the spotlight on a service-learning program at Abington High School in suburban Philadelphia as example of the way Americans give generously of their time and the benefits they receive in return.
The segment was part of an hour-long special edition of “20/20” that looked at charitable giving in America. The program used footage from Learn and Serve America’s “Bring Learning to Life” program video, which features Abington High students engaged in a variety of service-learning activities, including students helping reconstruct a historic building.
In the 20/20 segment, anchor John Stossel describes the positive impacts of service-learning. “Teachers say students who volunteer raise their grades, and get higher SAT scores,” Stossel says. The piece quotes Abington High School student Jeff Rohrbach, “After service-learning started, I got so involved into it, I started paying attention more, picked up my grades.’ Rohrbach now operates his own construction company in his Montgomery County, Penn., community.An ABC-TV crew spent most of a full school day at Abington High in early November. In one classroom, the crew interviewed children who make blankets for sick children in Philadelphia and repair glasses for children and adults in Guatemala. Abington is a longtime Learn and Serve America grantee and the school sponsors an AmeriCorps VISTA member who assists in coordinating service-learning activities.
“Service-learning is doing wonderful things to connect the classroom to the community in ways that are mutually beneficial,” said Amy Cohen, Director of Learn and Serve America. “Abington High is just one of thousands of outstanding service-learning programs that are developing better students, better citizens, and better communities.”
The service-learning spotlight came in the show’s closing segment about “helper’s high” – the idea that giving money or time not only feels good but can actually improve your health. The show included an interview with author Stephen Post, whose upcoming book reports on scientific evidence showing the positive health effects of donating money and time. In connection with its “Get Involved” Baby Boomer volunteer recruitment campaign, the Corporation produced a fact sheet that references medical studies that show how volunteering can reduce heart rates and blood pressure, enhance immune systems, combat social isolation, and provide other health benefits. It is available at http://www.getinvolved.gov/newsroom/press/factsheet_health.asp
To order a copy of the “Bring Learning to Life” video, which provides an introduction to service-learning as an effective strategy to improve academic achievement, increase student engagement, improve social behavior, build civic skills, and strengthen community partnerships, visit the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse at http://www.servicelearning.org/resources/bring_learning/
The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Providing service opportunities for millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds, Corporation programs include Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.
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