Center for Civic Engagement selected for youth service stimulus grant funded by The Allstate Foundation

Roanoke College’s Center for Civic Engagement is excited to announce it received a $20,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation in collaboration with the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO) to support youth-led, youth-driven community service among students.  

The grant is part of The Allstate Foundation’s national efforts to transform how we engage, equip and prepare youth to participate in community service.  

“The Allstate Foundation supports organizations like the Center for Civic Engagement at Roanoke College that play an indispensable role in reinforcing the significance of youth-led service and equipping young people with the vital tools needed to serve their communities,” said Greg Weatherford II, Youth Empowerment Program Officer for The Allstate Foundation. “We hope the Center for Civic Engagement’s efforts continue to inspire more youth to serve and accelerate positive change where they live and beyond.” 

The Center for Civic Engagement partners with nearly 20 local nonprofits to create hands-on service programs that put students to work on housing, education, environment and food insecurity initiatives that contribute to the well-being of our region and its families. 

This funding will support service leader fellowships for students who are selected to coordinate programs and mobilize other student volunteers. It also will be invested in alternative break programs focused on housing and poverty to ensure all students can take part without travel costs being a barrier. 

“Our focus has always been on giving as many students as possible access to the learning and leadership opportunities that come alongside volunteer service in our local and regional communities,” said Jesse Griffin, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement.  

“We know they are gaining competencies through these experiences that supplement what they have achieved in the classroom and that they are being well-prepared for lives of service once they graduate. We are deeply appreciative that The Allstate Foundation has allowed us to expand these efforts this academic year.”

The funding for the Center for Civic Engagement is part of the initiative, “A Return to Service,” designed to catalyze change while positioning youth-led, youth-driven service as essential for improving communities. The Allstate Foundation’s support allows the Center for Civic Engagement to inspire in students a lifelong commitment to community, civic engagement and endeavors that serve others.

"Working with the Center for Civic Engagement has taught me just how important service is in ways big and small,” said Aidan Lacombe ’26, a service leader fellow who organizes student programs with Feeding Southwest Virginia, a food bank that serves 26 counties and nine cities across the region. 

"It’s shown me firsthand how much of an impact you can make by serving others even in humble ways. Many people are struggling, and you have a chance to make a difference in their day. It’s important to me to use the opportunities I’ve been provided in my own life to give back to others and work to make our community a better place.”    

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More about Center for Civic Engagement: Roanoke College’s Center for Civic Engagement offers hands-on service and leadership opportunities for students. Programs vary from local service in the Roanoke Valley to projects in other parts of the country. Each year, it also leads all incoming freshmen in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house for a local family, kicking off their college experience with a commitment to the ideals of service and community. 

More about the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO): CELO envisions a world where high-quality opportunities are distributed as equally as the abundance of talent in our communities, and every young person can develop the essential capacities to navigate an increasingly complex world, reach their potential, and contribute to their communities. We accomplish this by integrating the science of learning and cutting-edge research with program innovation and community co-creation of learning solutions. Learn more about CELO.

More about The Allstate Foundation: The Allstate Foundation empowers people and communities so they can thrive. Established in 1952, The Foundation takes bold actions and inspires people to act by empowering youth to serve and improve communities, working to close the racial wage gap, and disrupting the cycle of relationship abuse. The Foundation also supports nonprofit leaders through the Nonprofit Leadership Center.