John W. Alford Center for Service Learning


Higley 020
740.587.6474
fax: 740.587.6386


The John W. Alford Center for Service Learning promotes and supports local community service by engaging the Denison community in four areas:

  • America Reads - our program for Federal Work Study students to provide tutoring services to area elementary schools
  • Denison Service Orientation (DSO)-the Center partners with First Year Programs to provide a service orientation opportunity for freshman in Washington, DC each year

    Current News and  Upcoming Events:  

    Welcome to all new and returning Denison students! Please scroll through our website, or visit us in the basement of Higley Hall to find out more about  how you can become involved in service activities. We'll work with you to match your interests with our student led committees. Or stop by our table at the Involvement Fair on September 2.

    Watch for more information about our upcoming events:

    • National Day of Service - Saturday, September 11, 2010
    • Make a Difference Day - Saturday, October 24
                    and much more to come!!!

    2009/2010 Events:

    • HRCC - HRCC  exceeded its goal of raising $15,000 for Haiti Relief! A special thanks to Brews Cafe, local community members, and Denison organizations, students, staff and faculty for their efforts.
    • Language in Action - This symposium on May 14 was hosted by the Center for Service Learning for educators throughout Ohio and surrounding states.View symposium resources here.
    • America Reads Banquet - Tuesday, May 4 at 5:30 in the Welsh Hills Room
      • Dr. Kristina Mead's Biology class reached out to Newark 2nd graders to talk about neuroscience and the importance of higher education. Read about their spring semester project here.

      • Hope for Autism hosted  a free conference for families, educators, consultants, community group, friends and volunteers on Saturday, April 17 with guest speaker Jocelyn Eskenazi, Coordinator of the Center for Autism Outreach Services at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic.

      • HRCC sponsored a pump and run on Sunday April 18 to raise funds for Haiti.

      • HRCC - HRCC sponsored the  Haiti Relief Concert on March 28 in Swasey Chapel. Proceeds benefited the Children's International Lifeline in Haiti. The Haiti Relief Coordination Committee is a  collaborative effort to raise educational awareness and financial relief.

      • Big Red's Big Day - On Saturday, March 27, hundreds of members of the Denison community  from DCA groups, athletic teams, fraternities and sororities, DUBS, BSU, Outlook, and other groups as well as individual students volunteered for organizations throughout the Newark community and on campus. Activities included painting at SPARK, collecting books for the Reading Foundation, planting trees, highway cleanup, work at food pantries and parks, building birdhouses with elementary students, and much more. Read all about the day in Coral Breuer, '11's tweet of Big Red's Big Day.
      • Break Away Art and Activism Gallery Opening - Thursday, February 4 - Break Away displayed photos and talked about their experiences from their winter break trips.
      • The Center Hosted a Book Discussion - November 10 - The Alford Center hosted a community-inclusive  discussion of Paul Tough's book Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America. Community partners, Denison faculty and students met to discuss the lessons that the Harlem Children's Zone might hold for Licking County.
        • Make A Difference Day, October 24 -Students from Denison Community Association, America Reads, athletic teams, physics and chemistry departments, Burpee's Comedy Troupe, Ladies' Night Out, Betsy & A Ukelele and other organizations worked  with over 100 kids from the community in a variety of on-campus and off-campus activities.
        • Diane Reiser visit - October 22 - While Brooklyn, New York and Newark, Ohio may not appear to have much in common, a speaker hosted by the John W. Alford Center for Service Learning showed that both communities have a strong commitment to encourage their students to graduate from high school and continue education in post-secondary schools. Diane Reiser, of Brooklyn College Community Partnership, met with Denison students, faculty and staff as well as representatives of Newark based organizations A Call to College, Licking County Foundation, and Newark City Schools to discuss how the BCCP has created networks of educational innovation that connect underserved youth, local middle and high schools, high-need communities and Brooklyn College. Ms. Reiser shared BCCP's experiences and discussed elements of its program that may be relevant for Denison University and Newark.