Service Learning Expert Shares His $100 Solution at Campus Event
What can $100 do to enhance the quality of life of a community? According to Bernard Strenecky, an internationally acclaimed authority on service learning and graduate of the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education, $100 can go a long way in creating small programs that can have a big impact on a community. Strenecky will discuss his service learning program, "The $100 Solution," at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28, in Hoyt Auditorium on the University of Rochester's River Campus.
The $100 Solution program addresses the importance of grassroots community engagement. At the outset of each selected service project, "The $100 Solution" asks the question: "With this $100 bill what can I do to enhance the quality of life of a community?" The program encourages members of the community to determine their own needs and create small projects that can be started for $100 that will meet those needs.
Strenecky's appearance at the University of Rochester has been arranged by Rebecca Landzberg, a fifth year Kauffman Entrepreneurial Fellow, who has started the first $100 Solution Program in the PLEX (Plymouth-Exchange) neighborhood across the river from the University. The PLEX neighborhood program will fund the creation of a community health fair in late 2010. The University's chapter of Rotaract, the campus division of Rotary International, also has adopted "The $100 Solution" as a sustainable project.
Strenecky has received numerous awards for his contributions to national and international education development including the Gold Crown of Merit for his contributions to Barbados where he served in the diplomatic corps. Strenecky also has been designated Rotarian of the Year for his service programs.
Thursday's event is co-sponsored by the Rochester Center for Community Leadership, the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services, and UR Rotaract.