From the Nominator

"Many colleges offer summer programs that provide bonding experiences to help incoming first-year students navigate the transition from high school to college.  Adelphi’s First-Year Community Action Program (FCAP) does that, but it has a higher purpose. Its goal is to instill the importance of community service into our students and build empathy, kindness, and compassion as key qualities. For many of our incoming students, this is their first experience with poverty, mental health struggles, at-risk children, or disabled veterans. The change we see in them is profound. In short, we are building future leaders in community service.  

Founded in 2006, the voluntary program brings students to campus one week before the start of classes to participate in service projects at partner organizations. Students work with veterans at the Northport VA Medical Center, with low-income children in Hempstead, New York, and at soup kitchens and food pantries with the Youth Services Opportunities Project in New York City. Their participation puts a human face on critical social issues like food insecurity, mental health, and our neglected veterans.  

More than 800 students have participated in the program, with many returning to serve as mentors. Students have gone on to lead campus service organizations like Adelphi’s Gamma Beta Phi National Community Service Honor Society chapter, which won the 2021 Day of Service Award and was cited as an exemplary chapter. The unique nature of the First-Year Community Action Program also helped the university attain the prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification."

From the Judges

This unique and impactful bridge program (incoming freshman transition to college life) changed lives!  You provided your incoming freshman with an unforgettable experience that set the tone for the rest of their college career.