Guilford College Cabinet, President, and Board of Trustees,

As an endowed scholarship program, we wanted to express that we are appalled to hear that Bonner staff have been furloughed indefinitely. Even though we recognize that the college is going through difficult financial times, this decision was taken without thinking of the impact that this will have on the entire program and lives of staff. The Bonner Foundation started this scholarship to help students who are low-income, first generation, and underrepresented, including students of color. We are asking that the entire Bonner staff returns to work immediately because their absence will cause major disruptions to the program and the lives of current and potential students. 

Disruption to the Bonner Program

The absence of staff will put to halt all components that the Bonner Program and Bonner Center are known for. Activities that will be most affected are: 

- James Shields, Director of the Bonner Center, and Meagan McNeely, Bonner Coordinator, have to be present to facilitate All-Bonner meetings (occurring once a month); first year, second year, third year, fourth year Bonner class meetings (occurring on a bi-weekly basis for each cohort); Bonner Advisory Board meetings (occurring once a week); and monthly site coordinator meetings. 

- Susan May is a part time worker who supports over 100 students (Bonners and non-Bonners) by facilitating training to better prepare students before engaging with any of the Bonner community sites, does regular check-ins, supervises hours, and  organizes and executes an end of the semester reflection. 

- Bonner Scholars will not have a staff member to supervise their remote service for the remainder of the semester or the summer.

- Student leadership selection for next academic semester will not be decided this semester. This includes: Senior Intern, Summer Intern, First year Class Representative, Second year Class Representative, Third year Class Representative, and two congress representatives. 

Disruption to Students

Requirements and Developmental Model

Bonner scholars are required to complete 140 hours of service per semester as well as two summers of service where students have to complete 280 hours per summer. Without staff there to guide students, it is impossible for students to fulfill their requirements because no one will be able to approve funds or site placements. Bonner staff have been role models to all students in the program, but also to students who are interested in the social justice work that James and the Bonner staff plan and execute. Bonner staff are sometimes the only support systems to students of color or students who are undocumented or DACAmented students; refugee; asylees; or other statuses. Staff worked tirelessly to create opportunities that can be done remotely, but they are needed to be employed to provide oversight. The Bonner Program uses a Developmental Model provided by the Bonner Foundation to show progress of student learning. Additionally, this developmental model helps with retention. Below is an explanation of the model and how staff play key roles to assure that this model is successful: 

Expectations --Bonner Programs intentionally recruits and accepts students who show an interest in and commitment to community service and engagement. Bonner recruitment adds to the diversity of the campus. Staff reads all applications submitted, interviews qualified applicants, and selects a cohort of 15 scholars. This takes months to complete. 
Exploration--New Bonners are involved in a variety of service sites and activities, which helps them identify passions and interests. Bonners make a long-term commitment to a particular community, site, and issue area(s). Students are supported by Bonner staff by providing opportunities like First Year Orientation where first years visit Bonner sites during the Social Justice Tour of Greensboro. Bonners help organize the campus-wide Volunteer Fair to expose more students to the kinds of work that Bonners do. 
Experience--Students focus on developing more skill and knowledge within their given community, site, and issue areas. They begin to form a deeper understanding of the mission, operations, and programs of a particular agency and community issues. Bonner staff facilitate meetings that occur monthly (all the Bonners)  and bi-weekly (specific cohorts).Meetings are held for students to learn skills and gain knowledge to better support community partners and other agencies in a sustainable manner. 
Example --As students progress, they take on expanded leadership roles and responsibilities on campus and in communities (often local, national and global levels). Bonners master the understanding of how to lead and mobilize students at their site and engage in complex projects, like related undergraduate research. Bonner staff support this by providing funding for conferences and symposiums (local and national). 
Expertise-- Finally, students work on community-engaged capstone projects, often at their site or with the issue they have engaged with for multiple years. They even initiate program development or assume management. Students often integrate academic studies, through capstones, and career interests. Students create a culminating public Senior Presentation of Learning, an opportunity to reflect on and share their entire developmental journey, learning, and accomplishments with peers, faculty, partners, and family. Bonner staff supports this by providing leadership opportunities for students to apply the skills and knowledge that they have been acquiring throughout their time at Guilford. 

Service Sites

The Bonner Program continues to do service since COVID-19 has prompted Guilford’s closure and stay at home orders. Here are some examples of the work that Bonners and staff are working on during these trying times:

Quaker Cupboard-- One site crucial to the Guilford community being the Quaker Cupboard, which offers free meals and food to students and the greater Greensboro community. This has been crucial during this pandemic when many people are unable to work and need access to free food. When students were unable to stay on campus any longer Meagan McNeely, Bonner Coordinator, took over handling the site. Without Meagan, the Quaker Cupboard is not functioning and risks the well being and access to food of many students, families and community members.
One Step Further-- Jennifer Shoe and Mohamed Togol both have jobs at One Step Further Teen Court program that is located downtown. They work with at-risk youth who commit misdemeanor offenses. The goal of the program is to educate the youth on the Criminal justice system, take responsibility for their actions, and learn social skills to help the youth make better choices. When the youth complete the program, they will not receive a record at the end. Jen and Mohamed work 20 and 16 hours a week dedicating their time to meet with the youth and their families to give them support. 
Latinx- Impact -- Berenice Fuentes works with her site that is primarily Latinx community at Northeast High school. She talks to her students and makes sure they are still doing okay through this pandemic. She is working to keep the program running even though she is currently in California. 
Bonner Hour Activities-- The Bonner Center provided students with a list of activities we could complete that would fulfill hour requirements while staying at home. The list includes videos to learn more about ways to do service, projects to create presentations about your site, working through Bonner Foundation Training Modules with fellow Bonners and many more. This is the document that specifically outlines possible activities to complete. 

Next Steps

As you can tell from this document, the Bonner Program and Bonner Center staff are essential to the operation of an endowed scholarship program. Students are asking that the college takes the following next steps:

- Take back the furlough notice immediately that James Shields, Susan May, and Meagan McNeely received.

- Allow the Bonner Program to continue operating with full staff so that students can continue to be supported through various trainings, conversations, and meetings mentioned previously.

- Take back the furlough notice for Liz Torrez and Paula Hernandez due to their direct connection to the Bonner Program.