2014 Mini-Grants
Compact Initiatives | 6
CTCC granted a total of $24,879.80 to support a new or existing initiative that enhances academic service-learning, civic engagement, community service or campus community partnerships. After a peer-reviewed application process, eleven initiatives from nine institutions were selected to receive funding. Dwight Hall at Yale: Community-Based Learning Initiative Hosted a series of meetings with faculty members, students, and community affiliates to review the current practice of Community-Based Learning (CBL) at Yale and strategize for programmatic enhancements. These included increased offerings for students, improved faculty support, and greater responsiveness to the needs of community-based organizations. Goodwin College: Service-Learning Pilot Project Consisted of three 3-hour workshops and a community partnership luncheon. Fagan Forhan, Director of Experiential Learning Opportunities and Civic Engagement at Mount Wachusett Community College facilitated the faculty trainings. The “Building Bridges� 2+-hour luncheon provided an opportunity for faculty and potential community partners to meet over lunch and explore service learning opportunities. Housatonic Community College: Food for Thought An interactive symposium to demonstrate nutritional and educational activities appropriate for young children. Bullard Havens Technical High School and Central High School located in Bridgeport attended with their Early Childhood Education students. 53 College Career Pathways students from Bullard-Havens Technical High School and Central High School attended. 35 HCC students also participated. Southern Connecticut State University: Campus and Community Alternative Spring Break The project included 24 students, many of which were freshmen. During the week-long project, some students volunteered at Wexler Grant New Haven Public school, aiding
teachers and students in classes. Half of students volunteered at Animal Assisted Therapy Services Inc. and helped renovate a barn and build parts of a therapeutic riding course. Some students aided with gardening at Mitchell Library and everyone helped make toiletry kits for a local pantry. Trinity College: Fostering Engagement in the Classroom through Community Learning and Research Discussed how faculty can integrate service learning into courses to foster engagement in the classroom, and exchange ideas on how to broaden the ways in which students engage in service learning. Both objectives concentrate on the relational aspect of service-learning projects. The goal was to expand and deepen the possibilities for service learning projects for individual faculty members and as part of further programmatic development at schools. Tunxis Community College: ePortfolio Initiative for Service-Learning Externally, the ePortfolio site is available to the public and approximately 92,000 students and 5,000 employees of the 17 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, and community partners. Internally, the SL ePortfolio site is a resource for students, faculty, and staff to view and gain inspiration from the variety of Tunxis SL projects, access a variety best practices and a directory for volunteering opportunities.
University of Connecticut: Food Justice in Windham through Community Partnerships Convened members of community organizations in the town of Windham to brainstorm possibilities to enhance existing partnerships and create new ones to address food justice. The program featured high school students sharing their stories of working toward food justice and the challenges they have faced. A key partner in the project is the emerging non-profit CLiCK (Commercially Licensed Cooperative Kitchen).