Bonner Center for Community Learning
Our Mission:
Action plus reflection prepares people to make both a life and a living.
The Bonner Center for Community Learning provides resources, opportunities, connections and direction that encourage the integration of academics and experience, campus and community, self and service, passion and purpose.
We offer:
- assistance and resources for faculty members who wish to include service learning in their courses; including grants, stipends and workshops for service learning course development
- service oriented internships or independent studies for academic credit
- alternative break service projects
- non-credit service through ongoing campus groups or placement in service agencies off campus
- forums and panels with community partners
- extensive service learning library with general information, as well as discipline specific literature.
Apply to the Bonner Scholars Program
The Bonner Scholars Program is an important part of Guilford’s Community Learning Program. Each year, 60 Bonner Scholars at Guilford perform more than 24,000 hours of community service as part of their commitment to the scholarship program. Bonner Scholars are selected based on their high financial need and their demonstrated commitment to serve during their high school careers. Accepted students receive scholarship funds and extensive training in return for their commitment to the 4-year program. Students are encouraged to submit their online Bonner Scholars Application* or as early as possible, with admissions decisions made on a rolling basis.
*also available as a PDF
Student Experiences in the Bonner Scholars Program
Jennifer Toth ’04 reflected on her Bonner Scholars experience, stating, “I think of the times I’ve volunteered with senior citizens and learned about the past in a way a history book could never teach me, or the times I’ve volunteered with people from another culture and learned about new religions and foods. Service is best when everyone involved gains something from the experience. There is no selfishness or vanity in that—only the reciprocity necessary for life.”
Including the community service efforts of 300 students outside the Bonner Program, students at the College perform more than 60,000 hours of service annually.
