Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS)

Students For Appalachia was the umbrella organization for many of the programs now referred to as CELTS programs. SFA was one of the oldest community service programs at Berea College; beginning in the mid-1960s, SFA was a community development program designed to help people with the problems of daily life. In 1970, an adult education component was added (STABLE -Student Taught Adult Basic Literacy Effort). In 1972, the two programs merged and the name STABLE was dropped in 1976. Both programs completed their federal support in 1973. For the next 20 or more years, SFA was funded primarily by Berea College and a few small state and federal grants. Most of the current service and outreach programs have been in existence for decades, including: Students for Appalachia, the Bonner Scholars Program, Habitat for Humanity, and People Who Care. In 2000, a new department, the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS) emerged. The purpose of CELTS is to house all student-led service programs and community outreach offices and to lead an initiative to integrate service into the academic curriculum. The mission of the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service is to educate students for leadership in service and social justice through promotion and coordination of academic service-learning and student-led community service. As such, CELTS provides a network of support and resources. It also serves as a common meeting place for those involved with Berea’s service-related activities. Opportunities for service, outreach and service-learning facilitated by CELTS take place in the immediate Berea/Madison County community, the larger Appalachian region and at sites throughout the United States and the world.