Engage and Empower Week!

The College of Charleston’s Bonner Leader program, in conjunction with Americans for an Informed Democracy, will host an Engage and Empower Week designed to tackle some of Charleston’s most pressing issues. Throughout the week of March 23-26, the Bonner Leader program will hold a series of activities and discussions to analyze the source and solution for a series of issues ranging from Homelessness and Hunger to Education. After each event, information will be presented on how students and citizens can engage in direct action to alleviate these problems.

The Schedule:
• Education – Monday, March 23, 7:00 pm, in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance at 86 Wentworth St. Alumni Hall Room –How do the students of Fraser Elementary feel about the closing of their school? Presentations from students and teachers from Fraser will give a balanced view of how it is impacting the students of the community.
• Homelessness – Tuesday, March 24, 6:00 pm, in Robert Scott Small, Room 002 50 (Basement) - Join us for a panel discussion between local nonprofits and government agencies that will explore the root causes of homelessness and housing issues, what local efforts are doing to solve these causes, and how you can be a part of the solution.
• Disabilities - Wednesday, March 25, 7:00 pm, in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance at 86 Wentworth St. Alumni Hall Room – Participants will step into the shoes of people with various disabilities. Interactive activities on how to communicate without speech, deal with the affects of autism, and how to be mobile while physically limited will bring a new understanding of the every day issues that face those that are differently abled.
• Falling Whistles “Speakeasy” – Thursday, March 26, 6:30 pm, at Kudu Coffee House - Join this informal discussion on the plight of child soldiers in Africa, how the nonprofit Falling Whistles is tackling the issue, and what you can do to help solve this crisis.

The Bonner Leader program is a group of civically engaged students dedicated to building relations between the Charleston community and the College of Charleston campus. They work to increase access to education on all levels and reduce poverty community and nationwide. These events are the first of many designed to create discussions involving issues important to the Charleston and South Carolina community.