Campus Outreach Opportunity League

Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) "was founded in 1984 by a recent graduate of Harvard University...

"Campus Outreach Opportunity League was one of the first organizations to recognize the need for the campus and the community to encourage and become actively involved in student activism and engagement. Wayne Meisel, COOL´s founder, wanted to develop an organization equivalent to an NCAA for service (COOL). Wayne Meisel believed that students were not apathetic or lazy; instead he believed students were unsure of how to become involved in the community (Krehbiel and MacKay). In 1984 Meisel started the COOL initiative with the grand gesture of walking from Maine to Washington D.C. On his travels he visited over 70 college campuses. Meisel saw a need and a potential for a national student movement (COOL)...

"In early 2004 COOL took advantage of the growth within the sector and merged with Action Without Borders www.idealist.org. "Helping students get engaged in improving communities and considering ways to stay involved throughout their lifetime (COOL)" is the common purpose between the two organizations. COOL´s experience in resource development and training will form a successful marriage with Action Without Border´s vast on-line network. COOL´s resources, web-tools, national network, and curriculum are now provided free of cost as an attribute to the merger with Action Without Borders (COOL)...

"The Carnegie Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trust are examples of some of the major philanthropic funding sources involved in service learning and civic engagement movement in higher education. Organizations like the Campus Compact, that include COOL as one of their resource/national affiliate organizations, must receive grant monies to fulfill their mission (Compact). These national trusts are leaders in funding of education and civic responsibility initiatives. For example the Carnegie Foundation has a project dedicated to "Higher education and the Development of Moral and Civic Responsibility (Carnegie Foundation)."

"As a nonprofit organization COOL itself offers scholarships to students and institutes of higher education. The COOL Community Service Award is given to five students and/or campuses across the nation who show a true dedication to student involvement in community service (Coll2Serve). Campus Compact offers two major awards yearly. The Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning, which is given to one faculty member a year as well as the Howard R. Swearer Humanitarian award that five students receive each year. The Campus Compact website also provides a list of other organizations that offer grant money and scholarships (Compact). "

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