The Bonner Foundation Celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Bonner Scholars Program

From the Waynesburg College "The Lamp Post"

The Bonner Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded by Bertram F. Bonner and his wife Corella Bonner, began with the concept of making college accessible to students, especially first-generation students from low-income families, and better enabling college students to serve others. Wayne Meisel, President of the Bonner Foundation, quoted the late Mr. Bonner in saying that the ideas were to “displace despair with opportunity,” and to “help the person who is hurting.”

Today the Bonner Foundation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, makes grants to colleges, universities, and other non-profit organizations, oversees the Bonner Program, which includes both the Bonner Scholars and Bonner Leaders, serves as a consortium of colleges and universities committed to service, and champions the idea of developing service-based scholarships at institutions throughout the country. Waynesburg College has been part of the Bonner Program since 1992. This past year there were nearly 70 Bonner Scholars and Leaders among Waynesburg’s student body. Overall, The Bonner Program includes 2,500 students from 68 colleges, with over 4,000 alumni. Representatives from more than 55 Bonner affiliated colleges gathered on the Waynesburg College campus as part of the Celebration. Also present were Bonner Trustees, Bonner Scholars and Leaders, 11 community partners, college Presidents, Provosts and Vice-Presidents from 20 institutions, and Bonner Program Directors.

Celebrating Through Service: 2005 All Bonner Service heads off to the Pittsburgh Project and Laughlin Chapel.

Flags and banners from many of the colleges participating graced the walls of the Performing Arts Center for the opening all-group session. The Bonner banner, reading “Access to Education, Opportunity to Serve,” hung on the wall behind the stage, directly across the auditorium from the Waynesburg College Banner, as if in recognition of the open, deeply supportive, face-to-face relationship between the College and the Foundation.

Waynesburg College President Timothy Thyreen said that the Bonner Program has changed the lives of students. He said, “It is not OK to live in a gated oasis disregarding the needs of others, but rather one should live a disturbed life in recognition of others’ needs, which leads to a life of service.” He added, speaking as a college administrator, that The Bonner Foundation “has assisted all of us in fine-tuning service learning programs.”

As part of the second day’s agenda, two Waynesburg graduates, both Bonner Scholars, spoke as part of a panel discussion on the topic, “Stories of Transformation.” Rachel Volpe, of the Class of 2000 and the current Coordinator of Bonner Scholars Program at Waynesburg, told the crowd packing the Performing Arts Center auditorium about her path to becoming a Bonner Scholar and the deep meanings of her position as Coordinator, saying that one who participates in the Bonner Program can expect the experience to “impact your life forever.”

August Hurst, a 1998 graduate of Waynesburg College and later of Princeton Seminary, said that he came to Waynesburg College focused wholly on himself, but changed his focus when he became a Bonner Scholar and participated in a service project in Pittsburgh, in which he cleaned up the yard of an elderly woman. He said the two-day task filled a dumpster about the size of the Performing Arts Center stage. When he was done, the woman offered him something to eat and looked him squarely in the eye to say thank you. At that point, he said, “I looked into the lady’s face and saw the source of the greater good I was serving—the presence of the Lord. Life was no longer about me; life was about serving others in the name of the Lord.” Pastor Hurst said that he had been “born spiritually at Waynesburg College” as a Bonner Scholar.

Bonner Foundation President Wayne Meisel with Waynesburg Bonner Scholar Alum August Hurst.

Additionally, over 40 students from various colleges and universities participated in the “All Bonner Service Event.” For two days, students participated in service projects at The Pittsburgh Project located on the North Side of Pittsburgh and at Laughlin Chapel located in Wheeling, West Virginia. This is the second year during the Summer Leadership Institute that students participated in the All Bonner Service Event. This further shows the commitment of the Bonner Foundation to service by giving Bonner Scholars the opportunity to serve along side Bonners from all over the country.

All the activities of the 15th Anniversary Celebration and Summer Leadership Institute were dedicated to the memory of Irene and Edward R. Farley, Jr., who had passed away earlier in the spring. Mr. Farley was a member of the Bonner Foundation Board. The Farleys had been dear friends of the Bonners and strong supporters of the dynamic, transformative work of the Foundation.