BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University students Sneh Rajbhandari and Danny Burke are the recipients of the Weir Fellowship that honors students who go beyond simply volunteering in the community.
The $1,250 fellowships come through Illinois Wesleyan’s Action Research Center (ARC), which links Illinois Wesleyan students with research projects with not-for-profit organizations. Students chosen as Weir Fellows must have previously worked closely with community partners, and proposed collaborative projects with them.
“Students have so many responsibilities with classes and work, that finding the time to volunteer and become involved in the community can be challenging,” said Jim Simeone, one of the founders of ARC. “This fellowship is intended to pay for the work they do assisting community partners.” Though the money is intended to support students financially as they work on projects for community partners, Illinois Wesleyan students are putting the funds back into the organizations they serve.