More than 500 students and administrators from 73 colleges across the country will arrive in Little Rock on March 19-21 for the 2010 IMPACT National Student Conference, one of the oldest and largest gatherings of socially engaged college students in America.
Hosted by the Clinton School and UALR, the conference will feature a variety of activities, including skill-building and thought-provoking workshops, discussions with local and national service leaders, and community program planning events.
The conference will impact both the students and the Little Rock community. In addition to learning new skills and ideas at workshops and seminars, the students and staff will participate in public service projects in the Little Rock community.
“This conference embodies what we teach at the Clinton School,” said Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School. “With our program’s unique focus on both learning and practicing public service, hosting the IMPACT conference is a perfect fit.”
During the three-day conference, participants will have the opportunity to attend more than 80 workshops, focusing on building personal skills such as fundraising; recognizing resource potential; leadership skills; and development of specific issue programs focused on community issues like homelessness, hunger, literacy, immigration and climate change.
The conference will also showcase several local and national service leaders addressing the participants on the importance of young engagement and service. Speakers include Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola; Our House executive director Georgia Mjartan; Bread for the World’s David Beckmann; Rob “Biko” Baker, executive director of the League of Young Voters; and Clinton School student and Haiti relief activist Ivan Noisette.
Participants will participate in an Opportunities Fair with information regarding service organizations and institutions from across Arkansas, the region and the country. Sponsors of the fair include Heifer International, Americorps*VISTA, the Arkansas Department of Health, Bread for the World, Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the YMCA.
“The Central Arkansas community has really stepped up to make the IMPACT attendees feel welcome,” said Marie Lindquist, the Clinton School’s director of field service education and one of the local organizers for the event. “We appreciate the help and support of these sponsors.”
The conference will also feature a Hunger Banquet, co-sponsored by Heifer International and Oxfam America. Attendees to the Hunger Banquet will be divided by global standards of food access with 30 percent getting a delicious meal while the remaining 70 percent will only receive beans and water.
The IMPACT Conference is collaborating with the Little Rock-based nonprofit Volunteer to See, an organization founded by Clinton School student Nicholas Hall that combines service and travel.
Volunteer to See will provide service opportunities for conference participants, including working with Habitat for Humanity to build local homes, and collecting school supplies and home needs for Volunteers in Public Schools and Ronald McDonald House.
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