WorldCom awards grants for community partnerships

Global telecommunications company WorldCom and nonprofit organization Campus

Compact awarded 20 grants of about $80,000 for two years to partnerships

between communities and local colleges and universities.

The grants were awarded to partnerships between a college and university

and K-12 students that address the needs of low-income and minority children

and utilize technology.

"It's all about community improvement and getting college students involved

in the communities they live in," said Brooke Beird, associate director

of Campus Compact.

The grants are part of $5 million that WorldCom gave Campus Compact,

an organization hosted by Brown University that aims to bridge colleges

and the communities.

The entire sum will be awarded over five years. The projects that won

grants this year can apply for renewals for the remaining three years. During

that time, Campus Compact will visit each partnership to help them meet

their goals.

The grants were given to projects involved in a variety of activities,

including: learning about biological concepts by cultivating a garden and

creating a World Wide Web site describing what is learned (Northridge, Calif.);

establishing a technology center for families to use the Internet after

work and school and on weekends (Lorman, Miss.); and teaching youth Web

page design, writing and leadership skills by creating an online and print

community newspaper (Amherst, Mass.).

Campus Compact received 164 proposals for the grants, which were evaluated

externally on the strenght of each, Beird said.

Campus Compact is a national organization with 670 college and university

members. WorldCom's Making a Civic Investment program, which aims to support

education through technology, awarded the money to the organization.