Westwood College's National "Good Works" Service Program Raises $25,000 For Community Groups

DENVER, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Faculty and staff from Westwood College recently hit the streets on a mission to do "Good Works" by helping more than 38 local community organizations throughout the U.S. The result? They contributed more than 2,700 volunteer community service hours, plus raised $25,000 to support select organizations in each Westwood College campus region. The month-long Good Works program is a part of Westwood's ongoing community outreach commitment, whereby each of the college's 14 campuses participated in a variety of projects, fundraisers and education-focused summer camps. 

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"Every Westwood campus is an important part of its community. While we make ongoing contributions to those communities throughout the year, we wanted to pull together all of our campuses in a way that would make a big difference," said Dean Gouin, chief executive officer of Westwood College. "Our goal for Good Works was to take one of our greatest assets, our faculty and staff, and go into the communities where we live, work and study to support organizations in need of physical and monetary help."

Terry Davis is the Director of Operations and Maintenance for Littleton Public Schools, where staff from the Denver campuses assisted with classroom relocations in advance of the fall school year. "The results are nothing short of spectacular, and we are so appreciative of the time and effort that went into moving all 25 classrooms. The day would not have been a success without the incredible group of people who showed up to make it possible."

To help even more deserving groups, the $25,000 donation will be dispersed in five, $5,000 increments to each of Westwood's campus regions, and awarded to select organizations in each respective area, including: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; A Better Chicago; Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers and Scientists; and the American Diabetes Association in Virginia. Also, in Los Angeles, the $5,000 award will be distributed to the following: Laura's House, the Robert F. Kennedy Institute, the David and Margaret House, and The Children's Institute.

Highlights of this year's Good Works community service activities include:

• Atlanta – The Midtown Campus hosted a free, week-long Westwood Enrichment Summer Technical Program with local high school students. And both the Midtown and Northlake campuses participated in the Strong4Life Superhero Sprint, a race that supports Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's mission to combat childhood obesity.
• Chicago – Area faculty and staff helped LEARN charter schools relocate one of their campuses in advance of the new school year. Also, through A Better Chicago, the Loop campus is partnering with Restoring the Path to teach youth about video production so they can produce a video about their organization's mission of combatting gang influence and violence on the South Side of Chicago.
• Denver – Staff from both campuses got their hands dirty while helping various public schools (such as Global Leadership Academy, Standley Lake High School and High Tech Early College) prepare for fall classes with classroom relocations, and landscaping and painting work.
• Los Angeles – Campuses partnered with such initiatives as Feed the Children's "Healthy Cereal Drive" – which provides groceries to hundreds of disadvantaged children, as well as Girls Inc.'s summer camp - which helps girls master physical, intellectual and emotional challenges.
• Virginia – The Annandale and Arlington campuses joined to help fight hunger in their communities by working with Kids Against Hunger, Salvation Army's Grate Patrol and Food & Friends to provide meals to families in need.

For a full list of organizations that Westwood partnered with as a part of the Good Works program, visit www.westwood.edu/why-westwood/community-outreach/westwood-good-works.

Westwood's year-round community service efforts reflect the college's mission to support the communities that its campuses serve, and initiatives include outreach to technology, healthcare and education-related institutions. For more information about Westwood's community outreach programs, visit the college's website at www.westwood.edu/why-westwood/community-outreach.

About Westwood College
Westwood College is an institution of higher learning with 14 campuses located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Virginia. Westwood offers a hands-on, career-focused curriculum in fields such as healthcare, technology and business. Westwood is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). A 2012 survey conducted by Noel-Levitz showed Westwood students are significantly more satisfied than the comparison group of approximately 125 public and private colleges, particularly in the areas of course content, quality of instruction and the school meeting their career goals. For more information, visit westwood.edu. 

SOURCE Westwood College