History of Service
Honors students are expected to participate in service in their community to expand and enhance the possibilities, opportunities, and hope of those in need of assistance. Civic duty as well as the Honor Code of the Honors Program express a need to give back to local organizations and individuals, but also to do the same for the international community. Honors students, in this way, hold up their agreement to excellence of character, action, and purpose. Below are listed some of the events Honors has participated in to create a better environment at home and abroad in this, our global and local community.
The Honors student(s) each academic year (Fall and Spring) who accrue(s) the most Honors Service Hours receives an award and a name on the Honors Service Hours plaque in our Quiet Lounge. Additionally, there is a monetary reward that accompanies this prestigious accomplishment.
Domestic Community Service:
Cajuns Can Care
Each year during the week of Homecoming, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette works in conjunction with the University Program Council (UPC) to collect food items, specifically can goods, that are donated to the Food Net Acadiana headquarters. In Fall 2016, students were able to collect 1,562 cans in total.
About Fall 2016 Honors Cajuns Can Care
Honors Garden
The Honors Garden was started in 2009 as an initiative to beautify the space between St. Mary Boulevard and Judice-Rickels Hall. Every semester, students work with the on campus gardening team to plan and plant multiple flowers in the garden. With the new benches overlooking the garden, the students have done a great job of creating a communal and comfortable garden space for all who come to enjoy this building. Here students are planting new additions in the Spring semester of 2016.
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Service and Work in Community
- Spring 2017 - Honors students collected multiple school supplies to deliver to local Northside High School for students in need.
- Fall 2016 - Honors students were able to collect over 50 backpacks to give to Acadiana CARES for the homeless population of Acadiana to use.
- With the hard work of the Smash Bros. Club (SBC), Honors and the SBC were able to raise over $520 to donate to Acadiana CARES to use toward sleeping bags and additional items.
- Spring 2016 - Multiple Bake Sales for Book Aid International raising $410
- Fall 2015 - Participation in Heartwalk, raising over $900 in funds.
- Spring 2015 - Honors students attended multiple schools in the Lafayette area to read to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students.
- Honors students collected lightly-used children's books to present to Healing House of Acadiana, a non-profit organization that provides a space for grieving children. These books are used to replenish older books in the play room at Healing House.
International Service:
- Spring 2015 -
- Spring 2014 -
Honors Orphan Outreach:
For the first time in the history of the UL Lafayette Honors Program, the Community Outreach Program expanded Internationally. Zadid K. Haq (at the time, Community Outreach Chair) founded the UL Honors Orphan Outreach Program. Zadid coordinated with Naaser Sawaf, (former UL Lafayette student and humanitarian worker) who took those proceeds and helped to purchase over 8 tons of food that benefited over 1600 orphans and refugees. Imam Eid and the Islamic Center of Lafayette donated $7000 to UL Honors Orphan Outreach and pledged their full support in our current and future endeavors. We raised an additional $400.00 from the sale of candy bars and individual donations. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church donated $1000 to our Syrian Orphans cause directly through SyrianOrphans.org on our behalf. The Honors Bake Sale and other individual donations brought in an additional $557.81 which brought our final total to $8857.81.
