CYA is now a “Bonner Approved” Study Abroad Program!
CYA has become one of the few study abroad programs to be approved by the Bonner Foundation. This means that Bonner students can now study abroad at CYA and complete their volunteer community service in Greece, with the support of CYA’s strong community partnerships.
The Bonner Program
The Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation in collaboration with colleges and universities in the US, provides diverse low-income, under-represented, and first generation students with the opportunity to attend college, while engaging their talents and education in building and supporting communities through the Bonner Scholar and Leader Programs.
In 1990, the Bonner Foundation launched the first Bonner Scholars Program in partnership with Berea College in Kentucky, also signaling a commitment to rural Appalachia. Designed to provide students with “access to education and an opportunity to serve,” the program has grown to become the largest privately-funded, service-based college scholarship program in the United States.
The Bonner Program provides a scholarship to students with high financial need and an ethic for service with four-years of financial aid support and an opportunity to participate in an intensive cohort experience, in exchange for weekly commitment to intensive and meaningful service with a local community organization.
In addition to their service, Bonner students engage in training on leadership development and social justice topics in an effort to encourage students to become aware of how the problems and issues of their communities influence their service work and public policy – locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Bonner Program is designed to transform not only the students who are directly supported by the program, but also the campus and community in which they serve and learn. Bonner students emerge from their college experience with a greater understanding of communities and the problems that exist within them, as well as the skills and commitment to be effective in community problem-solving efforts. Not surprisingly, they remain involved in service no matter what path they pursue professionally.
“Improving the lives of individuals” in Greece as a Bonner at CYA
For many years, CYA students have been given the opportunity to participate in volunteer/community service based activities in order to complement their study abroad experience. Now, Bonner Scholars and Leaders may satisfy their community service requirements while studying abroad in Greece. Through this initiative, in addition to their educational experience, CYA strives to provide students with skills required to address the challenges of our increasingly interconnected world. Student volunteers immerse and acquaint themselves with the multi-leveled socioeconomic difficulties that Greek society faces (domestic and migration issues) on a daily basis and this is all done with the utmost sensitivity, care and attention.
Well-established and connected within the Athenian and Greek community, CYA has all the resources that come with over five decades of commitment to giving students an enriching experience; this particularly benefits students because they have access to a diverse range of partner voluntary organizations, and a wealth of support from our dedicated staff in arranging volunteer or internship-type placements enabling them to fulfil their commitments to the Bonner Program.
