Clarke Honored for Participation in Interfaith Program

Clarke University has been honored for participating in the inaugural President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.

Clarke was one of 242 schools cited by the White House for participation in the initiative, which was launched by President Obama in 2011. The President sent letters to the presidents of all institutions of higher learning in the U.S., inviting them to initiate or expand opportunities for their students to participate in community service with a component of interfaith engagement. To kick off the event, two national meetings were held along with 20 regional meetings, including one in Dubuque.

Clarke responded to the President’s challenge and was cited in the inaugural report on the program for the following:

• Coordinating a large Into the Streets volunteer service day, during which students served in various venues, such as nursing homes, a clothes ministry and local rescue mission.

• Organizing a Faith Fair, an opportunity for students to learn about other religions in a fair format. The event included representatives from the local Catholic, Nazarene, Jewish, Lutheran, Pentecostal and Evangelical Presbyterian churches.

• Establishing RELIEF, a campus ministry student group made up primarily of students who are not Catholic and are advised by a Protestant minister who is a faculty member and adjunct campus minister.

In a letter to the participating schools, President Obama stated that “by serving alongside each other as Christians and Jews, Hindus and Muslims, believers and non-believers, you are building bridges of understanding and reminding us that the principles uniting us as Americans are far more powerful than those that divide us.”

For more information, contact the Clarke University Marketing and Communication Office at (563)588-6318, or visit www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/fbci for the complete report.