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COMMUNITY/NEIGHBORHOOD

HART HOME Program -
Since 1991, Trinity provides up to $10,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance to residents of Hartford who buy an owner-occupied home in a ten-block area just north of the campus.
Contact: Hart at 860-525-3449
 
Trinity Center for Neighborhoods -
In 1994, Trinity College was awarded a two-year HUD grant to establish the Trinity Center for Neighborhoods (TCN). The initial goal for establishing the Center is to assist four neighborhood organizations in developing strategy plans for improving specific target areas and solving urban issues. TCN integrates the resources of Trinity College and the community to address these issues. The TCN provides computer networking systems, staff, training and research for each of the organizations. A project manager oversees and supervises daily activities as well as acting as a liaison between Trinity College, Research Affiliates from Trinity faculty, UCONN, community research groups and the community organizations.
Contact person: Alta Lash.
 

Trinity College Community Child Center -
Since 1985, Trinity has provided space for an independent community child care center on campus. Trinity students are employed by the Center and its governing board is comprised of a large number of Trinity employees. The Child Center is responsible for five programs:

  1. Birth To Five - child care for 50 families representing Trinity employees and neighborhood families. The Child Center provides $24,000 a year in scholarship aid for neighborhood families;
  2. Campus Care - before and after school care for   students from Kennelly Elementary School and  students in an all-day kindergarten;
  3. Fox Den - before and after school care for 40 neighborhood families at Fox Elementary School;
  4. Summer Camp - summer program for 30 families. Children range in age from 5 to 12;
  5. Parent Power - workshops for parents in subjects such as childrearing and guidance.

In addition, the Child Center has just received a grant to develop a new parent run drop-in center for children age birth to five, called the Family Center.
Contact person: Diane Zannoni.

Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance -
Established in 1977, SINA is an important initiative on behalf of the neighborhood adjacent to the three sponsoring institutions: Trinity College, Hartford Hospital, and the Institute of Living. SINA seeks to improve housing, employment, economic development and the quality of life of the residents of this area. Through Broad Park Development Corporation, a non-profit agency SINA helped to establish, many deteriorated buildings have been rehabilitated, primarily for low-income residents.
Contact person: Eddie Perez.
 
American Leadership Forum -
The American Leadership Forum, originated in 1984, is a locally governed chapter of a national program with chapters in Hartford, Houston, Texas, the State of Oregon, Tacoma/ Pierce County, Washington, and Silicon Valley, California. Each year ALF brings together approximately 20 established leaders from the public, private, and not-for profit sectors of the community. The program is comprised of monthly seminars, a wilderness experience and a community project. The sessions allow leaders from diverse backgrounds to strengthen leadership skills, to focus on collaborative methods to resolve problems, and to discuss ethics and its practical application to real life issues. The main goal is to establish an interconnectedness among leaders who can then join forces and address challenges facing the Hartford community. Contact person: Margaret Shanks.
Marriott/FoodShare Food Salvage - Marriott has just begun to donate the unused, cooked food from the dining halls. FoodShare is a food warehouse serving the Greater Hartford area. After each meal, Marriott stores and freezes the left over food they will not be able to use again. From there, FoodShare picks up the food, up to three times a week, and delivers it to local soup kitchens and shelters. In addition, Marriott allows children from one of our volunteer programs to eat in the dining hall, with a Trinity student, once every other week. Marriott also supplies the food for a Community Outreach project which visits homeless people who do not go to shelters.
Contact person: Jessie Stratton
 
Community Service Office -
The Community Service Office serves many functions on the Trinity campus: advisor to Community Outreach; service resource/advisor for PRAXIS, the community action residence hall; coordinator for the service aspect of community learning courses; clearinghouse for local agencies requesting volunteers; and coordinator for one-time serivce events. The CSO also organizes volunteers for many of the projects in this list.
Contact persons: Joe Barber or Val Ramos
 
Community Outreach Programs -
Begun in the late 1960's, over 350 students volunteer in approximately seventeen projects in the following categories:
Tutoring Projects:
  1. Ramon E. Betances School - tutoring and counseling for elementary students, many bi-lingual;
  2. Center For Youth - after-school tutorial/cultural enrichment for elementary students;
  3. Kennelly School - after school programs in reading, writing, mathematics, arts and crafts, and sports;
  4. McDonough Elementary School - tutoring during class time with child in grade of choice;
  5. SMArT Teams - one-on-one project developing semester long science and math projects with middle school kids at Kennelly School;
Youth-At-Risk Projects:
  1. Trinity's Camp for Kids - after school developmental and enrichment activities with approximately 10 children;
  2. Youth Emergency Shelter - work with runaway youth at the downtown YMCA, providing fun, companionship, educational and emotional support;
  3. Youth Under Severe Stress - individual placements with youth experiencing difficulty with home, academic, or personal life;
  4. Neighborhood Posse - Founded four years ago by a Trinity student, this project pairs Trinity students with children who live on the streets directly surrounding the college. The pairs meet, on their own, each week for educational and recreational activities.
Adult Projects:
  1. AIDS Projects - volunteering with AIDS' patients, opportunities to raise campus awareness and promote prevention of AIDS;
  2. Best Buddies - one-on-one relationship with mentally-challenged individuals;
  3. English as a Second Language (ESL) - working with people from various ethnic backgrounds on English mastery and skills;
  4. Habitat for Humanity - assisting in the construction of low-income housing;
  5. Immaculate Conception Church - individuals visit residents in this shelter for homeless men and assist in tutoring, writing, and language skill development;
  6. Read to Succeed Literacy Project - volunteers are trained to assist individuals in literacy skills;
  7. Save Our Homeless People Association (SOHPA) - Volunteers travel in an outreach van to places where homeless people live to bring food, clothes and conversation.
Referral Projects:
  1. Big Brother/Big Sister - national mentoring program. Volunteers are matched with local children by interests;
  2. Bulkeley High School Tutoring - individuals are matched with Bulkeley students by interests;
  3. Hartford Interval House - individuals work in this shelter for battered women in areas of child care, advocacy and group facilitation;
  4. Hartford Hospital - hospital work in a variety of settings;
  5. Juvenile Court Detention Center - once a week activities with teenagers including creative writing, art, tutoring;
  6. St. Elizabeth's Shelter - individuals work in a variety of areas in this shelter for homeless women and children.

In addition to these on-going projects, the following one-time events are sponsored by Community Outreach:

Halloween on Vernon Street
Food, clothing, book and toy drives
Alternative Spring Break
Fun Fair in spring

Community Outreach provides the Trinity Community with information and activities to promote awareness of issues facing the Hartford community.

Contact persons: Joe Barber or Val Ramos