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community service
In addition to the academic portion of
the program, cadets are required to perform community service
in an attempt to promote community spirit. With each
class cycle, the number of community service projects has
increased to a point that now allows more diverse activities
for the cadet population. As cadets work in the community,
positive recognition to the cadets and the program is developed.
As of Class 15, more than 208,000 hours
of community service projects have been performed. Some of
these projects, past and present, include the following:
- Champaign County Head Start:
A select group of cadets from each team assist the Head
Start Instructors. Cadets help monitor and mentor preschool
age children through the day's activities, maintaining an
image of a positive role-model.
- Conservation Projects:
Cadets perform various activities at a 4-H Memorial Camp
in Monticello, Illinois. Activities include demolition of
older cabins and construction of new ones, maintenance of
the many trails at the camp, and lake debris clean up. The
cadets also participate in the Leaders Reaction Course at
the camp.
- Champaign County Office
on Aging: Cadets rake leaves, pick up litter on the
outside grounds, and clean inside of houses for elderly
citizens within the Champaign County area.
- Salvation Army: Cadets
offer assistance in the annual Toys for Tots program.
Cadets help sort and organize donated toys prior to the
parents' selection days, and then assist parents through
the toy selection process offering advice as to appropriate
toys.
- Champaign-Urbana Special
Recreation: Cadets perform a variety of tasks, including
helping to train Area 8 Special Olympic athletes for the
annual area and Illinois State Games as well as helping
Special Olympic athletes with bowling and volleyball tournaments.
- March of Dimes: Cadets
assist in the annual Jail and Bail program by answering
phones, taking pictures and receiving pledges for the event.
Cadets also assist in the Walk America fundraiser for Champaign/Urbana,
acting as route monitors and refreshment/liquid suppliers.
- Champaign-Urbana School
District: Cadets restore the playgrounds and surrounding
grounds of various elementary schools that include: Leal
Grade School, Kenwood School, Washington School, and the
Urbana Middle School.
- IDOT-Adopt-A-Highway:
Cadets clean a two-mile stretch of highway that runs parallel
to the facility.
- Neighborhood Clean Up:
Cadets have helped to clean up the shoreline at a public
lake in Urbana, and have participated in neighborhood clean
up days for Champaign and Urbana. The clean up days allow
the local communities to recycle their waste in one location.
- Prairie Play Playground:
Cadets assisted community volunteers in the construction
of the all-wood Parry Play Playground for the children of
Urbana.
- Eastern Illinois Food Bank:
Cadets help sort food items into the appropriate categories
before it is distributed to various families that are in
need.
- Holiday Projects: Cadets
participated in the Champaign Jaycees Haunted House by dressing
in costumes. Cadets have also helped in the setup and breakdown
of the Governor's "World's Largest Easter Egg Hunt"
in New Berlin, sponsored by DCFS, and have acted as chaperones
for groups of children at the event.
- Illinois State Police:
Cadets have participated in the annual Illinois Special
Olympics Torch Run sponsored by the Illinois State Police.
Cadets have run both the fifty-mile stretch from Danville
to Champaign and the fifty-mile stretch from Champaign to
Bloomington.
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