It's National Homelessness Awareness Week!

There is a lot of things going on this week! Check them out!

-          Monday, November 18, Hunger Banquet, Niejadlik Hall, 7pm

-          Tuesday – Wednesday, November 19-20, Shack-a-Thon, Webb Lawn, 12pm on 11/19 - 6pm on 11/20

-          Thursday, November 21, “What is a Home?” Panel Discussion, SC Theatre, 3pm

-          Wednesday- Friday, November 21-23, Children’s glove/mitten drive, Webb Lawn/Lobby, Student Center, 10am-2pm

-          Monday-Friday, Voices of Homelessness Art Exhibit from No-Freeze, Student Center lobby/Webb hall

 

If you have any questions about any of the events, please contact the Center for Community Engagement at cce@easternct.edu!

 

Hunger in Connecticut

The CCE is putting on many events this month to raise awareness about Hunger and Homelessness.

What does the issue of HUNGER look like in Connecticut?

The Connecticut Food Bank has done a lot of research alongside Feeding America about hunger and poverty in Connecticut. You can check out their website here: http://www.ctfoodbank.org/
Here are some interesting facts that I found on their website:

• 20.9% of children in Windham County live in a food insecure household.
• That's about 5,560 children
• 19.8% of children in Connecticut live in a food insecure household.
• That's about 157,550 children
• In Connecticut, 1 out of 7 households cannot always afford the food that they need.

What is food security?


According to the USDA, food security is defined as "access by all people at all times to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life."

It is difficult for people who live in a food insecure situation to afford foods that will provide the adequate nutrients needed for this active and healthy lifestyle. Instead, those in a food insecure situation are eating foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt content which does not contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Check out this interactive map that has food insecurity statistics from all across the U.S.: http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-studies/map-the-meal-gap.aspx

What can you do to help?

• You can help by participating in the food drives happening every weekend this month and encouraging your friends to join you.
• Look out for the events that will be happening during the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, November 18-23 and participant in as many of the events as you can.
• Attend a People Helping People, Habitat for Humanity or other social service club meeting and see what events they are putting on this month.
• Get involved with GROW Windham.
• Check out the Connecticut Food Bank website mentioned above for more ideas and facts.
• Sign up for the Day of Giving which is November 27 (the day before Thanksgiving)

If you are interested in any of the events above and would like more information, just e-mail the Center for Community Engagement at cce@easternct.edu.

It's November!

NOVEMBER 1st! Already?!

The semester is flying by, and this is the last full month of the semester and with it comes many exciting things that are happening around the ECSU campus.

Also, don't forget to turn those clocks back this weekend (Sunday morning)! One extra hour of sleep!

Here is a list of just a few special events happening this month:

November 2-24: Weekend Food Drives
November 17-23: National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Stay tuned for events that are happening during this week!)
November 23: Walk for Warmth
November 27: Day of Giving
November 28: THANKSGIVING!

Keep an eye out for those boxes that will be appearing in all the dorms, administrative and classroom buildings starting next week. Bring any non-perishable foods you might have!

E-mail the CCE at cce@easternct.edu for more information about any of the events listed above!

Make a Difference Day

What are you up to this weekend? Well, if you don't have any plans yet, you should know that on Saturday, October 26th, it is Make a Difference Day.

What is Make a Difference Day?

"The stories told around Make a Difference Day show that anyone - regardless of age, location or resources - can accomplish amazing things when they take on the problems they see in their community" (http://makeadifferenceday.com/about-make-difference-day)

As a stressed, always busy, stay-up-all-night-sleep-all-day college student, it can be really hard to find time to volunteer! However, it is ten times easier when volunteering becomes a time to work with friends, make new connections in the community and about finding those opportunities that provide the skills needed for your career.

That is why this weekend, on Make a Difference Day, the largest national community service day in the U.S., I am encouraging you to get a group of your friends together and do something positive for the community. If you cannot find a community project for this weekend, don't let that stop you or discourage you. Do some research with your friends on possible ideas of service projects you could do. Talk to your R.As, your club e-board members, the staff at the Center for Community Engagement. There is an unlimited number of resources you can use to get connected with the community.

Sometimes making a difference is as simple as inviting someone on your floor who has been feeling homesick out with you and your friends, taking a trip to the grocery store and buying groceries to donate to the soup kitchen, or even taking the time to check out some of the local businesses and supporting them by purchasing something.

Whatever it is that you decide to do, send your photos and stories to the CCE, we want to know about what you are doing to make a positive difference and share what you are doing with the Eastern Community!

Think Pink! 

Tomorrow is the first Think Pink event at Eastern Connecticut State University. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer. Breast Cancer is impacting more and more people around the world every day.

The amount of support that ECSU has had for Breast Cancer victims has been nothing short of amazing. There have been bake sales, ribbon sales, bracelet sales and many others taking place all over campus this month in honor of the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this has really shown how important this issue is to students.

Think Pink is a walk that will be taking place on Webb Lawn on Wednesday, October 23 (that's tomorrow!) from 9am-1pm. There is already several teams registered to walk and the expectation is that there will be many more! There will be food, music, prizes and useful information.

Lisa, President of People Helping People, has had a large roll in the creation and planning of this event and she had received a lot of help and support from members of the PHP club. Her inspiration for the event was the 40 mile walk she did last year with an organization called Avon Foundation for Women. Lisa has been personally effected by Breast Cancer and she is sure that many other students are effected by it as well and she wanted to do something about it.

Students are encouraged to wear pink on Wednesday, walk to support the event and/or donate to the cause.
You can donate online at www.gofund.com/thinkpinkwalk2013. Proceeds will be going to the Avon Foundation for Women to fight breast cancer. If you have any questions e-mail PHP at peoplehelping@my.easternct.edu or cce@easternct.edu.

Join together in the fight against Breast Cancer with the ECSU community!

 

What is Relay for Life?

(You can find all of this information on the Relay for Life website: http://www.relayforlife.org/learn/whatisrelay/index)

Relay for Life is a twenty-four walk put on by the American Cancer Society. The purpose of the walk is to raise awareness and money for all different forms of cancer.

"Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths" (cancer.org).

Relay for Life emphasizes community and hope, as everyone, from young children to college students to grandparents, join together to fight against a disease that is impacting millions of lives.

Where do the donations go?

• Cancer Reseach
• Hope Lodge: "provides a free and comfortable place for patients and their caregivers to stay, so they can focus on getting well"
• Providing the transportation cancer patients need to get to and from their treatment.
• As well as other programs that support patients as they go through their treatment and post-treatment

Relay For Life has become a worldwide phenomenon, raising nearly $5 billion to fight cancer.

Is there a Relay for Life event near Eastern Connecticut State University?

Chelsea Haddad, a senior at Eastern, is the liason between ECSU and Windham's Relay for Life Chapter. Below is her message to anyone who may be interested in being a part of Windham's Relay for Life:

Thank you for your interest in Relay for Life!

Our Next relay is October 18-19^th, 2014 at Eastern’s Ball Field!

We would love it if you would be involved. You could start or join a team, join the planning committee, or volunteer the day of the event. We are always looking for new teams and it is great to get your team signed up early and to have plenty of time to raise money! The planning committee is always looking for more people to help us put on this event. If you wanted to volunteer day of event and help out we would appreciate that too!

I am a team captain and planning committee member and have been doing Relay for Life for 6 years. I would love to answer any questions you may have about Relay for Life or helping out.

You can email me at haddadc@my.easternct.edu if you are interested or if you have any questions!

Thank You,

Chelsea Haddad

Keep Calm and Volunteer On

This is our unofficial motto at the CCE right now. 

We have had a hectic beginning of September. With our Warrior Welcome Service Project, move to a new location (333 Prospect St., the beautiful big yellow Victorian house right by Nutmeg), and our Service Fair (Sept. 10) coming up, and beginning to plan for all of Community Programs, Special Events, and Alternative Break Trips, we have been going non-stop. 

Many of you who are reading this are Eastern students and are probably feeling overwhelmed with your classes, work load, and the many opportunities that Eastern has to offer through internships, jobs, and leadership opportunities on and off campus. 

The last thing you may want to think about right now is that someone may be depending on you to tutor them, provide guidance and mentorship, or need your help to make sure a homeless shelter can operate for someone to have shelter. These responsibilities may seem like an extra burden rather than something fun and you may think you have absolutely positively no time in your schedule to take them on. 

Take a step back now from all of the chaos and work that comes with being a college student. Think about what it is like to tutor a child or play a sport with a high school student and show them that its cool to play by the rules. Think about how that one moment can impact that person for the rest of their life. 

Walking into the CCE, you may feel uncertain about what you want to do or how you will ever fit volunteering into your schedule. But that's why we're here! Our jobs revolve around finding opportunities that match your passion or helping you explore careers or general volunteer opportunities that you're curious to learn more about. We offer Community Programs, Alternative Break Trips, and Special Events so that there is enough variety for anyone to get involved.

You can find us at 333 Prospect St. (a.k.a. the aforementioned big beautiful yellow Victorian house right by Nutmeg Hall) or contact us at cce@easternct.edu. You can also give us a call at 860-465-0090.

We look forward to meeting you this year!

-Jacqui De Cormier, AmeriCorps*VISTA

August and September Volunteer Opportunities

We have quite the calendar of opportunities coming up this month and next!

August 27: Warrior Welcome Service Projects, Willimantic, CT
Incoming freshmen and transfer students signed up to volunteer at 11 project sites including making gifts to donate, community gardens, and volunteering with high school students!

September 10: Service Fair, Webb Lawn, Eastern Connecticut State University 
If you want to get involved in one of our amazing Community Programs (i.e. tutor a student over the period of a semester, become a mentor to a student, volunteer with those who are homeless or recovering from an addiction) then this is the place for you to speak directly with our community partners and sign up to learn more about how you can get involved!

September 15: CureSearch Walk for Children's Cancer, Hartford, CT 
Do you want to bring more awareness and support to children's canacer? Form a team and fundraise to participate in a walk of solidarity with others who feel the same way.

September 20: Poverty Awareness Marathon, Eastern Connecticut State University
Bring a can or some money and join in the marathon around Eastern's campus to bring awareness that poverty can occur all over the world to anyone. You can walk or run for as many laps as you want!

September 24: Connecticut Mobile Food Truck, Willimantic, CT
For those who are unable to access fresh groceries, the CT Mobile Food Truck provides a way for them to obtain fresh produce and groceries for them and their families.

If you have any questions about our Community Programs or Special Events, email the Center for Community Engagement at cce@easternct.edu


* Transportation is provided for most Special Events and all Community Programs

CCE's Fall 2013 Volunteer Opportunities!!

We are thrilled to show off our Fall 2013 Volunteer Opportunities!

 

If your interested in a Communtiy Program, email Luis Rodríguez, Assistant Director of the CCE at rodriguezlu@easternct.edu.

 

If you want to get involved in a Special Event, email Max Goto, AmeriCorps*VISTA of the CCE at gotom@easternct.edu.

 

If you don't see something you're interested in or passionate about, contact the CCE at cce@easternct.edu to start a new initiatve or program!

 

 



I Love Me! Event

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

                     On February 14, a group of middle school children from the Windham Middle School Afterschool Program gathered in the Betty Tipton Room at Eastern Connecticut State University for ‘I Love Me!’ an event organized by Student Leaders Sonya Beetham and Jeannine Gemma and hosted by the Center for Community Engagement. The kids were broken into groups that switched every 20 minutes between stations, each having an activity to related to the kids about proper nutrition and self-esteem. For one activity, the kids wrote Valentines to themselves as a way to boost confidence; another included a game of Jeopardy during which the kids were quizzed on nutritional information.  For example, a 100 point question was “true or false: breakfast is unimportant.” The kids grouped together to give their final answers and rack up points to win prizes. At the end of the event the kids gathered in the middle of the BTR and were taught Brazilian dances, then allowed to dance on their own. When ‘Gangnam Style’ came on even the boys couldn’t wait to hit the floor. Everyone had a great time and we look forward to having them back in the future

CCE Service Expo & Awards

Monday, April 23, 2012

This past week was a wonderful one for the Center for Community Engagement volunteers! The third annual Service Expo and Awards occurred last Thursday from 2-5pm in the Betty Tipton Room in the Student Center.

                Different groups representing their particular service categories displayed tri-fold boards for judges and fellow volunteers. Different awards were being given to students demonstrating: going green, broadening horizons, leadership development, effective communication, best new program, and strengthening communities. Each group of volunteers were ranked and scored on their particular project, their effectiveness on creating awareness, and their influence on Eastern and the Willimantic community, among many other things. Each volunteer group created fantastic presentations on their services and it was really tough for the judges to only select one winner for each group.

                Among the students that were honored, faculty and staff that have given much to the Eastern and Willimantic communities were applauded for their efforts. There is no doubting that a small group of people can have an outstanding effect on a community.

                Congratulations to all of the winners, and all of the volunteers that offered their dedication during the school year!

Winners:
Going Green: Willimantic Wildlife Habitat (Sarah Lion-Egan and Heather Lepper)
Effective Communication: Best Buddies "Spread the Word o End the Word"
Leadership Development: College 411 a Hartford High School (Todd Aviles and Kayla Bynum)
Best New Program: Windham Center After School Program (Max Goto) and the Food Justice Committee
Broadening Horizons: PHP Pen Pals Program
Strengthening Communities: The Sisterhood Project

Career Fair!

Monday, February 6, 2012

(click to enlarge)

Under Awareness Panel & Collection!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Click images to enlarge:

Busy December Weekend

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Who knew that the first weekend in December would be so popular for volunteer activities? This weekend was the Penguin Plunge, Mill Museum Gingerbread holiday, community garden clean-up, and tree planting. 

17 Students took the plunge into Coventry Lake. They were "freezin' for a reason", to support Special Olympics CT. Together they raised $1,131.

 

Walk for Warmth 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

For the past 20 years, the Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM) non-profit has held the Walk for Warmth to raise money for their energy assistance program to keep families warm in the cold winter months. Walkers could participate individually or as a team. Each person participating was asked to raise a minimum of $20. Preceding the 2 mile walk around Willimantic was a beautiful interfaith service at St. Joseph's Church. RA Danny from Laurel Hall led a team of students at the walk. Additionally, RAs Leon from Burr, Angelica from Crandall, and Courtnie from Occum brought volunteers to help set up for the event, play educational games with kids to raise their awareness about poverty, and help clean up! The event as a whole raised $27,900!

Walkers on Main St.

Examples of the signs throughout the route!

Volunteers!

Members of the Laurel Hall team!

To learn more about WAIM, check out their website!http://waimct.org/

Eastern's 5th Annual Day of Giving!

Monday, November 28, 2011

This past Wednesday, November 23rd, we hosted Eastern's 5th Annual Day of Giving! The event was coordinated by People Helping People's Kate Harner and Scott Nolan alongside the CCE AmeriCorps VISTAs, Brit Cava and Kristina Scherber. This annual event is a Thanksgiving meal for those in need living in our community. On weekends starting at the end of October we held food drives at grocery stores to raise non-perishable food items and money for the food bank. This year we:

FED 456 PEOPLE!

COLLECTED 5,558 NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS!

RAISED $538.81 DOLLARS!

HAD 30 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS!

All our volunteers!

The buffet!

Co-Sponsored by Chartwells!

A family enjoying the meal!

Press Covering the Event:

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/x1059073667/VIDEO-ECSUs-5th-Annual-Day-of-Giving

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/newsnow/x2045398664/Easterns-Day-of-Giving-filled-with-food-thanks

http://www.wili-am.com/images/audio/ecsu_day_of_giving_nov_21_2011.wma

Find us in the November 25th issue of the Willimantic Chronicle & Channel 3!

Interschool Walk for Warmth: Recap!

Monday, November 14, 2011

About 390 children convened at Windham Middle School on Wednesday, October 26th to learn about poverty. The children came from afterschool programs at Windham Middle, Natchaug, Sweeney, North Windham, and Windham Center. The children were able to walk around the track in order to earn tickets to play poverty-related games. Some activities included face painting, bracelet making, paper chain, a guessing game, scavenger hunt and more. Children were also able to receive prizes for doing certain activities. The favorite station seemed to be the popcorn machine, where there was a consistent line of kids waiting to get their popcorn from our two dedicated volunteers at the station! 

A total of 53 volunteers from Eastern helped out at the event! Great job volunteers. Take a look at the list of our volunteers below:

Ashley Lovett, Ian McGlynn, Kerri Schuster, Michael Downs, Kaitlin Baldi, Jessica Sammataro, Katherina Poltorak, Latiqua Patterson, Steven Clayton, Laura Bean, Keith Sunthorn, Shannon Shultz, Emily Yu, Stephanie Gionfriddo, Avery Schena, Stephanie Sakelarakis, Jean Chery, Aaron Bernstein, Clif LeSure, Federica Bucca, Yunchu Liu, Bryant Collazo, Despina Messologitis, Emily Jack, Kate Harner, Taylor Scalia, James Boyle, Angelica Hribko, Alyssiah Wiley, Lesly Damour, Rachel Murad, Tom Takacs, Alan Nunez, Stef Burelle, Ben Glick, Samantha Clifford, Bethany Ingraham, Steve Lukaszewski, Ethan Linder, Shannon McCormick, Courtney Gendron, Tasheenah Brown, Megan Sniffin, Brittany Graff, Colleen Gomola, William McLaughlin, Melissa Symolon, Wiley Dawson, Jon Yackel, Max Goto, Brit Cava, Kristina Scherber & Lauren Greeney

Special thanks to Kate Harner, James Boyle, Wiley Dawson, Melissa Symolon and Katee Baldi for their hardwork as Walk for Warmth Committee members!

Plus, Eastern Volunteers made the news again! Clickhere to check out the article in the Norwich Bulletin on the Interschool Walk for Warmth.