Indiana Campus Compact IFSC October 2010 Press Release:

Interfaith Service Corps members among the diverse young leaders who will work together toward significant change

INDIANAPOLIS, OCTOBER 15, 2010–Students, faculty and staff from four local campuses will be attending a large scale training designed to teach students how to speak out on the importance of interfaith cooperation on their campus, mobilize their communities to take action, and sustain their efforts to create a lasting impact on campus. From October 22-26, 2010, the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) will host a Student Leadership Institute for 200 interfaith student leaders and 100 campus staff allies in Washington D.C.  Representatives from over 130 campuses from across the country will attend.  Part of the training includes a meeting at the White House, hosted by the White House Office on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.  Subsequent trainings will take place at Georgetown University.

Over the past several months, religious issues have dominated the news cycle.  IFYC believes that “we need to see concrete illustrations of religious tolerance and interfaith understanding, and believe there are no better examples than diverse young leaders working together for the common good”.

Among the students traveling from colleges and universities across the nation, will be nine students from Indiana, eight of whom are part of the Interfaith Service Corps pilot program developed in partnership between Indiana Campus Compact (ICC) and the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC).

The Interfaith Service Corps members are a subset of a new Indiana Campus Compact AmeriCorps Education Award program funded by the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Interfaith Service Corps members, 13 students from Butler University, Franklin College, Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI), Marian University, and the University of Indianapolis, will:
1. Coordinate an awareness campaign centered on the power of interfaith collaboration for the common good;
2. Develop a sustainable network of interfaith leaders to mobilize their campus; and
3. Organize a campus-wide interfaith service event(s) to address an issue of community concern.

Upon completion of 300 hours of service to their communities, students are eligible to receive a $1,132 AmeriCorps Education Award. Those awards can be used to repay qualified student loans or to pay the cost of attending a qualified institution of higher education.

Additional funding for the Interfaith Service Corps is being provided by the Lilly Endowment Inc.  Their support will help build this pilot program and continued collaboration between ICC and IFYC.

ICC supports higher education’s efforts to develop students into well-informed, engaged citizens. By providing programs, services, and resources, ICC serves as a catalyst for campuses and communities to improve people’s lives through service-learning and civic engagement initiatives. ICC’s membership includes public, private, two- and four-year institutions committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only state-wide higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, ICC promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum. For more information, visit www.indianacampuscompact.org

Through participating in the Interfaith Service Corps program, members become a part of the AmeriCorps national service network of improving lives and strengthening communities throughout the United States of America. AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information, visit www.ifyc.org