Volume XIX | November 2022

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." - Coretta Scott King

Program Spotlights

Mansfield Middle School Mentoring


Mansfield Middle School Mentoring is having a great semester so far! Our community partners had a huge turnout for participants this semester for kids looking for the opportunity to bond with UConn mentors. Therefore, we are still accepting new recruitments who are ready to be committed to fostering community and one-on-one relationships. We are excited to see what the rest of this semester has in store!


If you would like more information, please contact uconn.co.mms@gmail.com


Breanna McNeece, Mansfield Middle School Mentoring Assistant Director

Jumpstart


Currently, Jumpstart is prepping their teams to get ready to begin working with preschool students. They have a couple of special fun activities coming up including AllCorps and AmeriCorps Launch.


On November 4th, UConn Jumpstart will be coming together for their AllCorps program. This includes team bonding activities, guest speakers on early childhood development, and food provided right here on campus.


On November 10th, UConn Jumpstart will be attending the AmeriCorps Launch conference in Hartford. This conference is a chance for our campus’ Jumpstart group to meet with other groups from other universities in Connecticut. Our UConn Jumpstart members will be able to participate in activities with other students from around the state and discuss how their projects are going. 


If you have any questions, please contact uconn.co.jumpstart@gmail.com


Julia Smith, Jumpstart Program Coordinator



Community Service Days


Community Service Days provides meaningful off-campus service opportunities to the UConn student population. Our mission is to deliver meaningful service opportunities to you. We provide transportation to off-campus weekend service events in the communities surrounding UConn. If you are interested in learning more about Community Service Days, please email us at: uconn.co.csd@gmail.com


To learn more about upcoming service opportunities, please visit our UConntact page here!


Queen Djassi, Community Service Days Program Director




Alternative Breaks


Spring break trip applications are open for 2023! Trip topics include civil rights and racial justice, community development, cultural preservation, food systems in cities, or healthcare access. These trips will be running from March 11th through the 19th in locations such as Washington D.C., Tennessee, Oklahoma, and right here in Connecticut!


If you would like to learn more or apply, visit our website here!

CO Student Spotlights

Rylee Thomas

Public Relations Student Coordinator


Meet Rylee Thomas! Rylee is a Junior English and Communications double major from East Hampton, CT. As the Public Relations Student Coordinator, she gets to run the CO social media accounts, as well as make and approve flyers.


Outside of Community Outreach, Rylee is very involved on campus. She is the President of the Figure Skating Team and the Editor-in-Chief of Long River Review, which is a student literary and art magazine. She is also a team leader for Honors Across State Borders, so she will be leading a team on their spring break building trip! She is on the Executive Board for the Honors Humanities and Arts Collective and is a floor mentor for the Honors to Opportunities (H2O) Learning Community. This year, she was also given the opportunity to be a student facilitator for UNIV 1784, which is a pre-teaching course.


In her free time, she enjoys reading, creative writing, poetry, hanging out with her friends, and hiking.


Donald Shaffer

Transportation Student Leader


Meet Don Shaffer! Don works for CO Transportation as the Driver/Vehicle Manager. He is in charge of hiring, employee training, and maintaining our fleet of 17 vehicles. He was promoted to this position in January 2022 and has been working for Transportation since September 2021.


Don is a Political Science and Urban/Community Studies double major with a minor in Crime and Justice from Norwalk, CT. He is also a member of the UConn Car Club in which he helps put on the biggest Car Show in CT at Rentschler, fundraise for Toys for Tots, and promote safe driving. In his free time he loves to watch the Yankees and other NY sports, workout at the Rec Center, and hang out with friends. His dream is to work in Law Enforcement in the community policing division and eventually go to law school to study criminal law.


Recent Event Highlights

Pumpkin Painting with

Cross-Cultural Connections


On October 17th, Cross Cultural Connections (CCC) and the Center for International Students and Scholars (CISS) held a pumpkin painting event together. CCC is an organization that pairs American students with international students as conversation partners. This is a chance for international students to better their English and feel more comfortable here at UConn.


"It was a fantastic event! I really enjoyed creating the Halloween pumpkin in the way I want to express it. To be honest, that was my first time doing something with a pumpkin. I think it was a funny and exciting experience for everyone to design their own Halloween pumpkins. I was so happy to meet other domestic students and international students including undergraduate and graduate students. I made two friends at that event and they are so friendly and fun. We promised to meet at the next event too."


If you would like more information on Cross Cultural Connections, please contact uconn.co.ccconnections@gmail.com


YoungJoon, CCC International Student



Day of Caring


UConn Community Outreach was able to partner with United Way and Eastern Connecticut State University for the Day of Caring on October 22nd. UConn students were able to meet at ECSU for the fun day of service. Volunteer activities included a trips to Windham Area Interfaith Ministry and Joshua's Trust. Overall, we had eleven participants from Community Outreach and they had a great time!


Brooke DiVasto, Program Director of Campus Wide Initiatives



Upcoming: Human Rights Dialogue


On November 28th at 7pm, the Dialogues Initiative will be hosting an open dialogue discussing the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was created in 1948, and was the first international human rights document that outlined what rights every person was entitled to. Almost 75 years later, the UDHR has been used as the framework for human rights movements around the world. Come join us to discuss what rights are guaranteed and the impact that the UDHR has had since its creation. You do not need to have any background knowledge on human rights movements or the UDHR, background information will be provided. All viewpoints are welcome.


If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to uconn.co.dialogues@gmail.com


Matthew Kylin, Dialogues Project Manager


Get Out and Vote!

Election Day, November 8th


Don't forget to register to vote on November 8th! If you would like to register or find more information, click here!

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