Community Partnership Celebration to Be Held In Lynn

MEDIA CONTACT: Kristin Schwabauer
Office of College Communications
978.867.4235

WENHAM, MA-The Gordon College Lynn Initiative will hold a program of recognition and celebration to thank the many community partners in the city of Lynn for their support. The celebration will take place on Wednesday, May 3 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Robert L. Ford School located at 49 Hollingsworth Street in Lynn.

"The welcome we have received in Lynn has been amazing," says Val Buchanan, Director of the Lynn Initiative. "We are hosting this celebration to say thank you to the many community organizations and schools who have allowed Gordon students to learn from them over the past academic year. Engaging with a real community and having meaningful service-learning opportunities helps students to grow. We hope to continue these partnerships for years to come and feel privileged to be so warmly welcomed in this great city!"

The Lynn Initiative, created in August 2003, is a partnership between Gordon College and the city of Lynn, MA. Through this relationship, Gordon College encourages students to cross racial, socio-economic and educational barriers while they serve and learn from the citizens of Lynn. Gordon hopes by exposing students to social responsibility, cultural appreciation and community leadership that students will grow in maturity, knowledge and faith.

Gordon College hopes to provide energetic volunteer labor in support of each community partner's goals. The key to making these partnerships beneficial to both parties lies in the reciprocity of the relationships. Therefore, the focus of the Lynn Initiative is not to create new programs, but to support existing ones led by indigenous leaders who are already effectively addressing current communityneeds.

Gordon students have been involved in a number of community projects this year. Students have helped Somali Bantu refugees adjust to life in the United States, mentored at-risk boys and girls, assisted in several adult ESL classrooms, and served as teachers' assistants in several Head Start classrooms, among many other volunteer and academically-focused efforts.

Community partners include the Boys and Girls Club, Community Minority Cultural Center , East Baptist Church, East Coast International Church, Food Project, Ford Elementary School, Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., Greater Lynn Mental Health, Lynn Economic Opportunity, Lynn Housing Authority, Operation Bootstrap, New American Center, North Shore Community College, Salvation Army, St. Joseph's La Vida, Y.E.S., and the Educational Opportunity Center-Talent Search.

The event will celebrate the partnership the City of Lynn and Gordon College has fostered. Locally grown and prepared food will be served by The Food Project. The Ford School Children's Choir will also perform under the direction of Rev. Eric Etheridge.

The event is free and open to the public but pre-registration is much appreciated. For registration information, please contact Beth Wright at [email protected] by Friday, April 28.

For information about Gordon's Lynn Initiative, email Val Buchan, Director, at [email protected].

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Gordon College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston's North Shore. The college offers majors in 36 fields and has graduate programs in education and music education. Leading the way in Christian college merit, Gordon is nationally ranked for its excellence in academics and its role in character building. These achievements recognize Gordon as one of the nation's top Christian colleges.

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