Robert Fanning
La Salle University
Bobby is one of the student coordinators of La Salle's Special Olympics group, which with Special Olympics Philadelphia to provide volunteers, and coaches for weekly practices and regional games and tournaments. Under his influence and tenacity, this program will be expanding to bring Young Athletes to campus weekly. Young Athletes is a sport and play program for children with and without intellectual disabilities, ages 2 to 7 years old.
Bobby has been instrumental in the formation of the La Salle University's Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter. After participating in two Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge trips, Bobby and few fellow students returned to campus intent on deepening La Salle University's relationship with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Bobby now leads a group of students who volunteer at the local Habitat ReStore on a weekly basis and conduct events that educate students about housing insecurity and raise money to benefit Habitat.
Bobby also has served as the Chair of the Forum on Community and University Service (FOCUS), the umbrella group for all student-led service on campus.
Personal Statement
Before entering college, I was generally unaware of the inequities that persisted within my region. While attending La Salle and volunteering around the Philadelphia area, I began to gain a deep understanding of the injustices that face a city with the highest rate of severe poverty. I traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Tucker, Georgia with Habitat for Humanity to learn about the prevalent issue of affordable housing. After returning home from the trips, a group of students and I created a Habitat for Humanity Club. Our goal was to educate the Lasallian community about the injustices within the sector of housing and collaborate with Habitat Philadelphia to assist adults affected by housing insecurity. Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity sparked my interest in housing accessibility and affordability, and further inspired me to complete a minor in Leadership and Global Understanding. Coursework involved in this minor focuses on providing a study centered on civic engagement at the local, national, and international level. Recently, I have become a part of POWER Philadelphia, an interfaith community organizing group attempting to improve the lives of Philadelphians affected by injustice. We hold both public and private sector enterprises accountable by urging them to improve conditions of those they serve and employ.
