The Daily Bulletin

An article by Elizabeth “Betty” Cappella, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor emerita of higher education administration; Geraldine Bard, professor emerita of English; Christopher Hulsman, senior assistant librarian, Butler Library; and alumna Melissa Blattner, titled “Promoting Altruism through Literacy, Volunteerism, and Service-Learning Programs to Enhance Social Justice, Equity, and Peace,” was accepted for presentation at the Oxford International Educational Research Symposium to be held in March 2025. Each presenter affiliated with the university will focus on different aspects of Projects Flight’s highly regarded literacy programs that promote social justice. Project Flight, a not-for-profit agency that started at Buffalo State University, has been in operation since 1993 and has received numerous awards and recognition locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. The following referred abstract was accepted for inclusion in the Oxford Symposium.

Project Flight is a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization with award-winning programs that promote altruism using literacy, volunteerism, and service learning to enhance social justice, equity, and peace. We recognize that the promise of literacy is an inalienable right, and that the legacy of literacy is democracy and freedom. Students and families who are more disproportionately affected are people of color, families in poverty, or people from diverse backgrounds. Literacy is one of the major civil rights issues of our time. Programs that create systemic change that integrates compassion and humanity through leadership, education, and empowerment through peace, literacy, and compassionate action are what’s needed moving forward. Some of our programs have helped start schools in impoverished areas, donated over 6 million books here and abroad, started programs that use literacy to promote volunteerism and service learning to enhance social justice, and created peace libraries that have been nationally recognized.