Chaminade University of Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii

Chaminade University of Honolulu is an exemplary institution committed to comprehensive community service and service-learning programs. In 2006-2007, the university community devoted 62,000 hours to service. In addition, more than 85 percent of the student body participated in community service to youth from disadvantaged circumstances. The results are impressive. The university’s Palolo Pipeline & Beyond project, which partners with other higher education institutions to provide academic support to youth in the Palolo housing development, was so successful in raising the achievement of the neighborhood middle and elementary schools that the schools have met the goals of No Child Left Behind and have been taken off the “restructuring list.” To achieve these results, faculty, students and staff provided tutoring for more than 100 children a day. Another special project that had an impact at Palolo is a mentoring program through college athletics. The students led clinics during the school year and in the summer incorporating sports skills, personal development, nutrition education, teamwork, and college goals. In addition, Chaminade University provided a program to help working-poor families in Palolo and other areas to obtain Federal Earned Income Tax Credits. Chaminade students were trained by the IRS. Their clinics helped 134 families get back $165,000 in taxes, saved them thousands in fees, and taught them to do their own taxes. The program was recognized by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as an exemplary practice to empower the working poor.