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UC Berkeley Press Release

UC Berkeley Chancellor announces community partnership awards

– Berkeley - Six community programs that embody the public service spirit and goals of the University of California, Berkeley, will be honored Monday (October 25) by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau in the fifth annual University and Community Partners Recognition reception.

This year's honorees promote access to higher education, technology in education and literacy, public health, nutrition, community empowerment, and environmental stewardship.

"These important partnerships exemplify the best of the hundreds of community programs the university is involved with every year," said Birgeneau. "It is a privilege to work with such important community groups and a key part of our public mission is to share our knowledge and resources with society."

Birgeneau and his wife, Mary Catherine, will present the awards at 5 p.m. Monday at University House.

The 2004 programs being honored are:

-César Chavez Educational Center College-Going Project: This partnership between the César Chavez Educational Center in the East Oakland Fruitvale community, community-based organizations, and numerous UC Berkeley departments aims to increase student achievement and create a greater college-going culture for students and their families. Among the partnership's
accomplishments are creating a new literary assessment system, increasing parent outreach, providing professional development for teachers, placing UC Berkeley students as tutors and mentors, developing college-going curriculum and arranging campus visits for Fruitvale children.
Joining UC Berkeley's Center for Educational Outreach, Cal Corps Public Service Center, and the Graduate School of Education are the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, International Community School, Oakland Community Organizations, Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, and the Think College Now School.

-Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth: This literacy development and technology instruction project helps at-risk and low-income Oakland youth bridge the digital divide through their stories and experiences. Students from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education serve as instructors, and undergraduate UC students provide mentoring and help with homework at the Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement multimedia lab.
Joining the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education is the Allen Temple Baptist Church, Castlemont High School, Cole Elementary School and the Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement.

-Farm Fresh Choice: This nutrition project partners Berkeley's Ecology Center with Farm Fresh Choice to improve access to and choice in fresh produce for families in lower-income areas of Oakland and Berkeley through weekly mini produce stands at childcare centers. UC Berkeley helps Farm Fresh Choice with information and advice on health, marketing and economic topics, in addition to information about the impact on small farmers and participants consumer behavior.
Joining UC Berkeley's Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health, the Center for Weight and Health in the College of Natural Resources, and the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in the College of Natural Resources, are the Ecology Center and the City of Berkeley Health Department.

-Family Health/Salud Familiar: This public health project aims to improve family and community health education by developing and disseminating hands-on health science activities and follow-up materials through workshops, fitness festivals and theater projects at 10 low-performing schools in Alameda County. The materials on subjects including food and nutrition, respiratory and heart health and disease prevention are provided in the primary languages of these historically under-served students and families. Joining UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science and the Center for Community Wellness in the School of Public Health are Carter Middle School in Oakland, Claremont Middle School in Oakland, the Health Academy at Oakland Technical High School, Healthy Start Collaboratives of the Hayward Unified School District, and La Familia Counseling and Referral.

-Lower San Antonio Collaborative: This affordable housing and community empowerment project in East Oakland works to identify potential sites for affordable housing, address community needs and concerns and attract potential developers.
UC students in landscape architecture, environmental planning, and city planning work with community members to envision the urban design context and to evaluate the financial feasibility of specific site plans. Joining UC Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development and College of Environmental Design are the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp., the Lao Family Community Development Corp., Making Connections, and the San Antonio Family Economic Success Work Group.

-Stege Marsh Restoration Community Stewardship Project: This environmental stewardship project involves the community in restoring Stege Marsh at the Richmond Field Station, which had been contaminated with industrial waste under a prior owner. This program provides field-based education and research programs for Cal students, K-12 students from historically under-served segments of the local community, and community partners. Joining UC Berkeley's Environment, Health and Safety and the Environmental Sciences Teaching Program is an independent, local nonprofit
educational organization called the Watershed Project. Other community partners include the Contra Costa County Youth Development Services, Earth Team, East Bay Regional Park District, Friends of the Estuary, Kids for the Bay and Save the Bay.

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