Shared passion for sustained service and social justice, supporting communities in need. Bonner Leaders make it happen.
The Bonner Leaders Program at the UNC Y pairs a driven, diverse, and committed group of students with a local nonprofit in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area for four years.
Bonner Leaders Program Director, Yalitza Ramos, and site supervisors work with the Bonners to guide their development from direct-service volunteers as first-years into project leaders, public policy advocates, and community-based researchers over the course of the four-year partnership.
First-year Bonner Leaders make initial introductory site visits to community partner organizations in the fall, meeting staff and learning about each organization’s programming before choosing where they want to serve.
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Bonner Leaders are work as literacy tutors, youth mentors, hunger relief volunteers, community outreach coordinators, cultural heritage preservationists, and innovators in launching programming to augment existing community services.