UD student groups win national awards for excellence in public service

9:11 a.m., June 5, 2013--Lori’s Hands and UDance, two registered student organizations at the University of Delaware, earned first place awards from the Jefferson Awards for Public Service in the 2013 Youth Service Challenge.

The Youth Service Challenge is conducted annually to recognize outstanding youth service projects making a positive impact in the world. This year, 27 projects earned national recognition and monetary awards in nine categories: animal rights; community building and citizenship; education and literacy; elder care; environment and sustainability; health and wellness; hunger, homelessness and poverty; peace and justice; and service to youth.

Honors Stories

National Medal of Science

President Barack Obama recently presented the National Medal of Science to University of Delaware alumnus Rakesh Jain.

Warren Award

Rosalind Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the NUCLEUS Program in UD's College of Arts and Sciences, was presented the John Warren Excellence in Leadership and Service Award during a May 26 ceremony.

• Warren Award
• Athletic training accolades
• Outstanding student teachers
• Library recognition

Lori’s Hands, founded in 2009 by Sarah LaFave in memory of her mother, was awarded first place in the elder care category. Their winning project was a new service learning course recently created on campus in collaboration with UD’s College of Health Sciences.

For more information on the project and the organization, see the UDaily article about recognition at a city of Newark event.

UDance, UD’s largest student-run philanthropy founded in 2007 by Jessie Forman, was awarded first place in the health and wellness category. UDance was recognized for its annual 12-hour dance marathon benefiting the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which raised over half a million dollars for the first time in 2013.

For more information about UDance’s nomination, see the UDaily article about recognition at a city of Newark event. 

The Jefferson Awards for Public Service was founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Sen. Robert Taft and Sam Beard to create a Nobel Prize for public and community service. The awards serve to recognize, inspire and activate volunteerism and public service throughout the United States. For more information about the awards, see the website.

Article by Casey Impagliazzo

Photos by Doug Baker and Evan Krape