Grinnell’s homegrown service corps will be adding a new location to its list of established service sites. This February, applications will be accepted for a Grinnell Corps fellowship during the 2008-2009 school year in New Orleans. Unlike other Grinnell Corps programs, only one fellow will be sent to New Orleans per year.
The program Grinnell Corps ultimately settled on is the Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative, a non-profit affordable housing developer in New Orleans. According to Doug Cutchins, Associate Director of Post Graduate Service and Scholarships, Jericho Road was chosen because they were most “enthusiastic” about the program.
Money was set aside in this year’s budget for an addition to Grinnell Corps, and so in September Cutchins spoke with four organizations in New Orleans. He approached the organizations asking them, “What would you have a Grinnell Corps fellow do for you?”
Expansion of Grinnell Corps is nothing new, and growth has long been institutionalized. “It’s been a stated goal of the college—it’s in the strategic plan—to expand the Grinnell Corps,” said Cutchins.
Still, establishing a new program is not without its challenges. “It takes a lot of work and time and energy to create a new Grinnell Corps program,” said Cutchins.
Enthusiasm was a key factor in Grinnell Corps’ decision to develop a program in New Orleans.
“There’s a strong Grinnell presence down there,” said Elizabeth Carrier ’07, a leader of ReNew Orleans who has done a lot of volunteer work in New Orleans. “You hear that it’s bad, and then you go down there and it’s worse than you imagined.” The significant need for programming was a driving factor in the decision to add a program in New Orleans.
Demonstrated student interest also played a critical role. “When you create a program, you want to create one that you know is going to be appealing to students,” said Cutchins.
There will be a general Grinnell Corps information session on Monday, November 26, at 8 p.m. in ARH 102. On Thursday, Nov. 29 Brad Powers, the executive director of Jericho Road, will give a presentation about the program in ARH 130 at 8 p.m.
