Trinity College has shown a commitment to working with SINA to create innovative connections between the campus and local community. By tapping the energy and talent of Trinity students along with the experience and leadership of community leaders and institutions, the College has been able to forge a wide array of initiatives that use sport as a vehicle through which elements of character and self-esteem are cultivated, thereby encouraging academic achievement, self-confidence, and the added benefit of promoting an active life and physical fitness. Such programs include the Boys & Girls Club at the Trinity College Thomas and Ann Johnson Building, Dream Camp, and the National Youth Sports Program.
The Boys and Girls Club
at the Trinity College Thomas and Ann Johnson Building
Opened in 1999, this club was the first in the nation to be affiliated with a College. A national model, it has resulted in more than 300 similar partnerships across the U.S. through the Clubs Go to College program. A key feature of the South Hartford Club is Trinity student participation. Not only do students serve as volunteers but they also contribute to its daily operation. In recognition of this achievement and the inspiration stirred, Trinity and the Club won the Mutual of America Partnership of the Year award. The Club provides children with recreational activities, a positive social network, and regular, consistent academic support through an academic mentoring program initiated and run by Trinity students.
Dream Camp
Dream Camp, which is funded anonymously through a grant from a Trinity alumnus, brings up to 300 Hartford children to the Trinity College campus for a yearlong enrichment program. Hartford students are nominated by teachers and school administrators based on character, academic achievement, and merit. The program’s success is evidenced by a 98% annual retention rate. Functioning as a traditional day-camp in the summer months and an after-school tutoring program during the academic year, the children participate in sports, art projects, singing, dancing, and science experiments. They discover hidden talents, learn the meaning of teamwork, and enhance their leadership ability, while developing multiple physical, intellectual, and creative skills.
National Youth Sports Program (NYSP)
For the past 34 summers Trinity College has been awarded federal funds to run a successful sports camp for inner city children. In 2003, the responsibility for managing NYSP at Trinity was assumed by Education, Sports and Fun Summer Camps (ESF), the national organization that also runs the Dream Camp, creating a synergy and consistency between the two summer programs. The goal of NYSP is to enable children from low-income families to participate in sports while simultaneously exposing them to higher education. Each year, 300 children from Hartford come to campus for sports instruction through NYSP.
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