Volume XXIII | April 2023 | |
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands -- one for helping yourself and one for helping others." Audrey Hepburn | |
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Youth Development and Education of Children
This March, Big Brothers Big Sisters hosted the Mystic Aquarium to join them for in-house visits at their sites. Big Brothers Big Sisters has six sites at various locations around Eastern Connecticut and the partnership with Mystic Aquarium allowed students to learn about educational topics at their respective schools.
Windham Heights and Campus Big Buddies has partnered with PRLACC to hold some programs where children can learn about and practice Latin dance. The programs are also planning to hold an Earth Day event on April 22nd where the kids can come to campus and get a tour of the greenhouse, as well as plant flowers and learn about the environment. Lastly, Windham Heights and Campus Big Buddies will be hosting a "graduation" event on April 28th for the 5th graders in the program to be celebrated.
For more information on all of the YDEC programs, please click here!
Dr. Martha Goldstein-Schultz, Coordinator of Youth Development, Language and Literacy, and Political Engagement Programs
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Civic Engagement Initiatives
Join Community Outreach's Civic Engagement Initiatives for a community-oriented civic engagement workshop and dialogue for students! This is a part of Community Outreach's growing initiative to promote and encourage indirect service opportunities, and encourage more students to join us as student leaders and service role models. This workshop will include a presentation on the basic structure of government, conversations on what civic engagement means and the different types of engagement, dialogue on what an individual's role is in their community, and activities to create a civic engagement plan. This will be taking place on Thursday, April 6th from 5 to 7 pm in SU 203-204.
Please register here for this event! Check out our UConntact page to see information. Food and drinks will be provided. If you require special accommodations to participate in this event, please contact uconn.co.politicaleg@gmail.com.
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Rachel Lambert
Meet Rachel! Rachel is a junior Pathobiology major with minors in Molecular and Cell Biology and Sociology. This spring, she was the Trip Director of the Healthcare Access and Education Alternative Break to Philadelphia. She's been involved in Alternative Breaks since freshman year and also started as the Student Coordinator of Alternative Breaks at the beginning of this semester. Rachel is very passionate about Alternative Breaks, as she believes that the immersive experience they provide allows students to better understand the complex social issues faced by different communities and offers unique opportunities to promote social justice. She enjoys being able to see her participants learn and grow. Outside of CO, she is the Co-Team Coordinator of UConn’s chapter of Partners in Health Engage, which seeks to promote global health equity. In her free time, she likes playing basketball or soccer, listening to music, and hanging out with friends.
Rachel Lambert, Alternative Breaks Student Coordinator
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Alternative Spring Break Trips | |
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Civil Rights and Racial Justice
Through the service, workshops, and sites we visited on our Civil Rights and Racial Justice Trip to Washington, DC, we learned about the need and impact of racial justice in various sectors of society and were able to engage in conversations about how we can be motivated to take part in lifelong service action and advocacy.
During our trip, we filled backpacks with personalized comfort and personal care items for youth entering the foster care system with Comfort Cases, sorted donations with A Wider Circle to provide basic need items for the home to our community neighbors, packaged diapers and incontinence products with Diaper Bank of CT, packaged groceries with Capital Area Food Bank, hosted an indoor food market with Martha’s Table, and engaged in an active bystander situational awareness workshop hosted by OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.
Thank you to all our community partners for their commitment to social justice and for making our Alternative Break experience a valuable educational opportunity towards creating a more just society.
Delia Lin, Alternative Break Trip Leader
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Cultural Preservation
The Cherokee Nation provided an impactful and memorable Alternative Break experience for us all. Working with members of Cherokee Nation’s Community and Cultural Outreach the entire week, we were able to not only conduct meaningful acts of service with Cherokee elders but each of us also had conversations with the community that we will never forget. Taking a Cherokee Language class taught by our Community Partner gave us the opportunity to experience Cultural Preservation first hand with people from a variety of backgrounds from all over Oklahoma. One highlight of the trip was Cultural Day, where we visited the Cherokee Natural History Museum, the Spider Art Gallery in Tahlequah, OK, admired a buffalo ranch, and enjoyed a traditional hog roast for dinner with many members of the Cherokee Community and Cultural Outreach organization. In the Spider Gallery, we found beautiful works made by one of our hosts. After dinner, we learned traditional basket weaving and made corn bean necklaces. But the most important thing we took away from that day was the memory of the conversations we had with members of Cherokee Nation - the stories we heard, the laughs we shared, and the impact we made on each other’s lives. And as we shed a tear saying goodbye to our Community Partner as the sun set over Tenkiller Lake, we fully embraced and believed the only way to say goodbye in Cherokee: ᏗᏓᏲᎵᎲᏛᎦᎴᏂᏍᎬ, or “we will see each other again.”
Michael Dunn, Alternative Break Trip Leader
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Food Systems in Cities
During our trip, we worked with multiple community partners dedicated to resolving food insecurity and hunger across Connecticut, specifically in the cities of Hartford and New Haven. The students got to work hands-on packaging produce at CT Foodshare to be shipped off to over 700 pantries across CT. They also helped bring in and stock a delivery brought to Frsh Place at the Chrysalis Center in Hartford, a case-management system meant to help resolve the short and long-term issues of their client’s food insecurity; they also provide them with quality nutritionally-dense options that their clientele couldn’t access at their local bodega.
Additionally, we did direct service with the community as well. We worked with Downtown New Haven Soup Kitchen at their weekly food pantry to distribute produce and grocery staples to over 300 citizens of New Haven. Finally, we worked with Neighborhood Housing Services to prepare two of their community gardens in Newhallville for planting this spring! We can’t wait to see what is planted in all of the plots and raised beds that we prepared, and what grows from the plants we ourselves planted!
Abby Interrante, Alternative Break Trip Leader
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Healthcare Access and Education
During our time in Philadelphia, we learned about the social determinants of health and focused on how we can address them in order to promote health equity. Our experiences on this trip helped us to better understand the factors that influence health in the urban setting and what steps we can take to intervene and support the wellbeing of communities.
Throughout the week, we engaged in Naloxone training, packed safer sex kits, had an educational event on mass incarceration and healthcare, spent time with nursing home residents, sorted through children’s book donations, and helped prepare medical supplies for global distribution! Thank you to our Community Partners: Overdose Lifeline, the Mazzoni Center, the Institute for Community Justice, Inglis House, Cradles to Crayons, and Project Cure!
Rachel Lambert, Alternative Break Trip Leader
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Cross Cultural Connections Nomads Trip
Cross Cultural Connections (CCC) and the Center for International Students and Scholars (CISS) took a trip to Nomads Adventure Quest. The trip involved bowling, golf, laser tag, bumper cars, arcade games and much more! CCC is a program that pairs fluent English speaking students with international students as conversation partners. If you are interested in learning more about Cross Cultural Connections, please contact uconn.co.ccconnections@gmail.com.
“I met many new friends and I enjoyed it very much. I think Nomads was a fun place. I enjoy golf very much, because I gained a new skill in sports, and it was exciting when the golf ball was hit in the hole.”
Participant, CCC International Student
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Selection Day
This spring, Selection Day will be held on April 15th from 11am to 5pm in the library. Selection Day is an event where prospective Student Leaders can come together to gain an understanding of Community Outreach and its mission. On this day, students can interview for the Student Leader roles that they are interested in. As interviews can be a little nerve wracking, this year there will be therapy dogs featured at the event! Community Outreach students who do not plan to interview for a position are also welcome to come to hang out with the therapy dogs and bond with other students!
If you have any questions, please contact martha.goldstein@uconn.edu
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Follow our socials!
@uconnoutreach
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