Service learning takes root at ELI

ELI students congratulate winners of the Special Olympics

Building on last year’s momentum, ELI students participated in a variety of community service learning activities in 2008, expanding their opportunities to practice English and gain a deeper understanding of American culture while assisting others.

ELI assistant director Deb Detzel reported that students participated in a number of projects this year. At the Food Bank of Delaware, students packed family meal food boxes for weekend deliveries, organized donations in the food bank grocery store and helped prepare jumbo boxes for large shipments. At the Sunday Breakfast Mission, ELI students helped to pack and distribute Thanksgiving dinner boxes. In the spring, students assisted in the annual Christina River cleanup sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. About 50 students volunteered for a day of service at Special Olympics Delaware on the UD campus in the summer, and 24 student volunteers helped plant 3000 marsh grass plants in September, as part of an effort to naturally remove pollutants from theWhite Clay Creek watershed.  • GW

Student volunteers help plant marsh grass along White Clay Creek