The College of Charleston’s Block on Bull Living/Learning Communities and Greek houses collected nearly $4,000 to buy toys for 100 abused and neglected children. That is nearly double what they collected in 2010. The program was facilitated by HALOS, a non-profit dedicated to providing resources and special opportunities to abused and neglected children and their caregivers.

“I was so impressed that the students sponsored 100 kids – it was really ambitious!” says Kim Clifton ’94, executive director of HALOS and a College of Charleston graduate. “Even more impressive, though, was how seriously the students took this responsibility. They asked caseworkers about the children and what they wanted to ensure that they were getting the right gifts. The quality of the gifts was amazing.  They clearly took a great deal of care with choosing presents – they were wonderful, thoughtful gifts.”

The Block on Bull Living/Learning Communities that participated in this service project are the Women’s and Gender Studies House, Outdoor Experience House, La Maison Francais, Casa Hispanica, Med House, and the REACH House. The Greek houses that participated are Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Chi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Kappa Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Delta Tau, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi Mu, Zeta, Alpha Delta Pi, and Chi Omega.

Living/Learning Communities at the College of Charleston are purposeful attempts to integrate in-class learning with out-of-class experiences. Students who participate in Living/Learning Communities have similar interests and want to participate in extra-curricular events that connect them with each other and community organizations. In addition to the Block on Bull Living/Learning Communities listed above, the Glenn McConnell Residence Hall also has the following Living/Learning Communities: Pre-Professional Health, International, Communication, and the Arts.

Living/Learning Communities at the College of Charleston were launched in 2008 and 2010 was the first year that McConnell Residence Hall was composed entirely of Living/Learning Communities. A main goal of the Communities is to support all ages of residents in their extra-curricular learning with themed academic and social programming that helps students develop relationships with each other and faculty, helping them learn critical skills like studying, coping and critical thinking, and to engage the students in the life of the campus and community.

For more information, contact Bruce Fleming at 843.953.6310 or go to http://nsp.cofc.edu/llc/index.php