Current News
Connecticut College to host community fair
August 26, 2008
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Office of Volunteers for Community Service at Connecticut College will host more than 40 organizations from across southeastern Connecticut Sept. 3 at its nationally-recognized annual Community Learning and Volunteer Fair.
The fair will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in the 1962 Room inside the College Center at Crozier-Williams and also features a mini "Taste of New London" with free refreshments from local vendors.
Each year, more than 600 Connecticut College students volunteer in Southeastern Connecticut through OVCS at organizations like The William W. Backus and Lawrence & Memorial hospitals, New London Public Schools, Habitat for Humanity, the Garde Arts Center, the Women´s Center of Southeastern Connecticut and the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Southeastern Connecticut. The fair aims to help those interested in social change locate work study positions, internships, volunteering, and service learning opportunities in Southeastern Connecticut. Open to the public and to Connecticut College students, faculty and staff, the fair is also a chance to introduce Connecticut College´s new freshmen to the community.
"Our college students deepen their learning by working with community partners in a wide range of sites, including the public schools, the local health care institutions and with environmental stewards," said Tracee Reiser, associate dean for community learning and director of OVCS. "They build houses and they build relationships, developing their abilities as active citizens while making lasting contributions and strengthening our communities."
Students will learn about opportunities to volunteer for programs like the popular Kids, Books, Athletics (KBA) - a collaboration launched seven years ago between New London Public Schools and Connecticut College that aims to improve the physical fitness level and literacy skills of New London youth.
"This collaboration between Connecticut College, KBA, and Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School is exciting and unique. What´s more, the kids love it! It is a great way to get Connecticut College students and our students working together - they have a lot to learn from each other. Our kids can see themselves as future role models contributing to their communities," said Ed Sweeney, physical education teacher at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.
Situated on the coast of southern New England, Connecticut College is a highly selective private liberal arts college with 1900 students from all across the country and throughout the world. On the college´s 750-acre arboretum campus overlooking Long Island Sound, students and faculty create a vibrant social, cultural and intellectual community enriched by diverse perspectives. The college, founded in 1911, is known for its unique combination of interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.
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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu