When Watts Hospital-Hillandale residents Helen Compton and Beth Silberman founded a Weekend Backpack Program at E.K. Powe Elementary a year and a half ago, they were a little nervous.
 
"It's scary to think about signing on with a kid, that you're going to give them food every single weekend," Compton said.  "We had to get brave enough to do it."
 
Through the program, first used in Durham by Communities in Schools, Compton and Silberman collect non-perishable food donations and, every Thursday, pack six meals' worth into backpacks that go home with students over the weekend. The backpacks have become a reliable source of nutrition in families fallen on hard times, who otherwise can't count on being able to put food on the table.
 
Compton and Silberman decided to make a commitment to running the program when they saw how readily their neighbors would support it.  All it took was one e-mail over the Watts Hospital-Hillandale listserv, and suddenly Compton and Silberman would have weeks' worth of food items dropped off on their back porches.

And support for the program has only grown. Other neighborhoods, like Old West Durham and Trinity Park, have sent in donations; local businesses have hosted food drives; recipient families have pitched in at the food pantry; and three Duke students worked to round up donations and volunteered every week to stock the backpacks.

Read the rest of the story.
Contact powefood4families@gmail.com to donate or volunteer.

Every spring for the last eight years, the Durham Giving Project course  at Duke University has given students an opportunity to learn about Durham - its issues, history, triumphs and struggles - and to give back, by raising money for community organizations.
 
The hard work of the 2010 Durham Giving Project students paid off last Monday, April 26, when the class gathered at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Walltown for a "grant party."  The students presented the more than $10,000 they raised throughout the semester to the 19 nonprofits and student engagement projects they had selected, through a competitive grants process, to receive the funds.
 
It was a moving event for the students and for the organizations they supported, all of which are part of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership.  Congratulations to the 2010 Durham Giving Project class!

Click here for a list of the 2010 Durham Giving Project grant recipients.

Duke University employees have 14 days to  enter the DukeConnects Challenge, a friendly competition to see which Duke department and individual employee can complete and report the most volunteer hours between April 18 and May 25.

At community.duke.edu/volunteer, Duke employees are sharing their stories of service.  One employee created an outreach program through her church, to send letters and care packages to the military. Another organized a yard sale to benefit Relay for Life. Others have reported their service as Boy Scout leaders, as nonprofit board members, or as volunteers for their children's schools.

There are countless ways that the Duke community gives back to the community at large. If you'd like to find a volunteer idea or opportunity, visit community.duke.edu/volunteer.  There, you can also create your own volunteer profile (as an individual or department) to keep track of your hours and share your story.

To show appreciation for the Duke volunteers who donate their time and talent, Duke's Office of Durham and Regional Affairs at the end of the DukeConnects Challenge will reward the winnging individual and department with special gifts from local merchants, donated through the Duke-Durham Campaign.

Learn more about the DukeConnects Challenge and how to get started.

Follow the links below to see how the Office of Durham and Regional Affairs and its partners in Duke community engagement have made headlines.

"Duke-Durham partnership uses informatics to reshape health system"
HealthLeaders Media, 5-5-10
Duke University Health System has partnered with Durham to use community, geographic health data to develop plans to reduce death or disability from specific diseases and improve overall health outcomes.

"A Fashion for Human Rights"
Duke Today, 5-5-10
Jim Wilkerson, Duke's director of trademark licensing and of Duke Stores, won the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for his efforts to better the lives of apparel workers.

"Junior League works with PLC"
The Herald-Sun, 5-3-10
Volunteers from the Junior League of Durham, including Duke employee Genevieve Tindall, give back by supporting the students and programs of the Durham Performance Learning Center.

"Scheyer puts on gaming event for players, fans"
The Herald-Sun, 5-2-10
Graduating Duke point guard Jon Scheyer hosted a fundraiser inside Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of The Jon Scheyer Foundation. Proceeds from "May Madness: Gaming to Give" were to benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Emily Krzyzewski Center.

"Students: Donate Unwanted Items as You Pack"
Sustainable Duke, May 2010
Duke Recycles and the Environmental Alliance Recycling Campaign are organizing Move-Out for Charity, which allows Duke students to donate unwanted belongings from their residences to local charities.  Follow the link for more information.