History of the Bonner Program
The
Bonner Foundation is a national philanthropic organization based in Princeton, New Jersey and founded by Bertram F. Bonner and his wife, Corella Allen Bonner. Prior to marrying Bertram, Corella had roots around Union College. Although Corella moved around often, she lived quite close to Barbourville for a number of years before moving to Detroit and then to New York City where she met Bertram.
The Bonners' involvement in community service emanated from their early work providing food for destitute families in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where the Bonner family lived. When the Bonners moved in 1956 to Princeton, NJ, they began a broad-based, ecumenical crisis ministry program housed in the Nassau Presbyterian Church. Since activated in 1989, the Foundation has become one of the nation's largest privately-funded service scholarship programs and a philanthropic leader in the anti-hunger movement. Through sustained partnerships with colleges and congregations, the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation seeks to improve the lives of individuals and communities by helping meet the basic needs of nutrition and educational opportunity.
The mission of the Bonner Scholars and Bonner Leaders Programs is to transform the lives of students and members, the life of their campuses, their local communities, and the world through service and leadership. The Bonner Program is designed to heighten the overall education students and members receive by asking them to engage in ongoing service work and helping them develop the experience, skills, knowledge and values necessary to make that work meaningful and lasting.
In 1997, the Bonner Foundation began an effort to expand its original model of service-based scholarships. The model was initially created as part of the
Bonner Scholars Program in 1990. Today, the Foundation currently works with more than 50 institutions nation wide that have begun chapters of the Bonner Leader Program.
Campuses in the Bonner Leader Program have each designed innovative models that use federal work-study funds,
AmeriCorps Education Awards, and institutional support to create scholarship stipends for students involved in community service as part of the Bonner Program.
Each of these campuses has a core group of 5-30 students who work on issues such as improving educational opportunities and fighting hunger through community programs that focus on literacy issues, mentoring, and nutrition/anti-hunger initiatives.
As part of the Bonner Program's Student Development Model, these students also participate in regular training and reflection activities sponsored by their campuses, their community partners, and the Bonner Foundation.
The Bonner Foundation, the Bonner Scholars Program, and the Bonner Leaders Program hold these
Common Commitments:
- Social Justice
- Civic Engagement
- Spiritual Exploration
- Diversity
- International Perspective
- Community Building
