Stevenson Center receives Community Partner Award

Illinois State University’s Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development recently received the 2010 Community Partner award from Mid Central Community Action. Given annually, the award recognizes outstanding community members and organizations.

The award recognizes the work being done by Stevenson Center students and staff.  The Center has worked with more than 250 community development organizations nationwide. For the past 16 years, graduate students with the Stevenson Center have been placed in the local community with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Easter Seals and the McLean County Community Compact.  The Center provides community organizations with services including needs assessments, data analysis and interactive workshops on topics such as grant writing.

“The Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development has received much recognition from Peace Corps and from within Illinois State University, but this is the first award offered to the Center,” said Frank Beck, director of the Stevenson Center. “Mid Central Community Action does outstanding work and it is gratifying to be acknowledged by this esteemed organization. We consider it quite an honor and are deeply appreciative.”

The Stevenson Center offers a unique program that allows students to combine domestic and international service with graduate studies in applied economics, political science or sociology, each with an interdisciplinary sequence in applied community and economic development. For more information, visit the Stevenson Center website.

Mid Central Community Action provides services to individuals and families across McLean and Livingston counties.  Their services include home ownership counseling, advocacy for the safety and healing of domestic violence victims, and provision of community services to disadvantaged people.              

Past Community Partner Award recipients include State Farm Insurance and the City of Bloomington.

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