Volume XII | December 2021
“ Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.” — Kahlil Gibran
Message from the Associate Director
"I would like to take this moment to thank you all for the hard work this semester. It was not easy! However, I am glad that we have been able to do more in-person programming while keeping everyone healthy and safe this semester. Please enjoy the break and holidays— be safe though! And we look forward to seeing you in January 2022."

Miguel A. Colón, Associate Director of Community Outreach
Alumni Spotlight
Jess Macintyre
Class of 2021

"I gained so much from CO that has impacted my life significantly— good friends, mentors, and my determination to incorporate service into my life in any way."

Jess graduated from UConn in 2021 with an individualized major in Cognitive Neuroscience with honors. Her journey with neuroscience continued into her current master's program in Surgical Neurophysiology, where she is learning intraoperative neuromonitoring. Next year, she'll be attending medical school (woohoo!). When out of the operating room, Jess stays busy by volunteering at her local animal shelter, painting, reading, and hiking.

Jess reflects that she owes a lot of her accomplishments and values to Community Outreach. She joined Big Brothers Big Sisters as a volunteer in her freshman year, and the CO community has been a huge part of her life ever since! She became a Site Manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters in her sophomore year before becoming the YDEC Coordinator in her senior year.

Jess says that CO is a once-in-a-lifetime type of community, and that she is so grateful to have had the honor to be a part of it. We here at CO wish Jess the BEST of luck at medical school, though we know she doesn't need it :)
Finishing Up the Semester Strong!
America Reads

America Reads is winding down after a great semester of service. We rekindled and initiated relationships with 4 sites from Hartford to Waterbury to Willington in various formats including in-person and virtual tutoring. Shoutout to our staff member Andrew Oravecz, Language and Literacy Coordinator Tessa, Site Managers Emilia, Kaitlin, Hunyee and Sonya, our community partners and all our volunteers for their incredible work and commitment to America Reads. We look forward to another great semester in the spring! Have a great winter break everyone!

-Amy O'Rourke, America Reads Student Program Director

Interested in America Reads? Visit https://uconntact.uconn.edu/organization/coamericareads

Jumpstart

Shoutout to all of our Team Leaders and Corps Members for being so amazing and patient as we transitioned to in-person Jumpstart this semester! Our members have been facilitating fun session plans and creative activities for our little ones at our community partner schools. We'll be having our last All Corps meeting this month to reflect on our semester and introduce our new Interim Site Manager, Emily Burnett! We are so grateful for her support :) Wishing everyone a safe and happy winter break!

Shoutout to the Jumpstart Team Leaders for all their hard work and countless days in the office. It wasn't an easy process to transition from virtual to in-person for the first time, but you did it! You all do so much for this program and you have built an unbreakable bond between each other. Can't wait to see what the next semester brings! <3

Shoutout to ALL of our Corps Members! From team planning meetings to going into sessions, the time and energy you put into Jumpstart is impacting so many children's lives! We're so proud of you :) Keep being amazing! We're looking forward to another semester with all of you!

-Kelly Halloran and Soribel Torres-Jiminez, Jumpstart Co-Coordinators


Alternative Breaks

Alternative Break's application for spring alternative breaks closed last Wednesday! We are going to be undergoing the selective process this weekend and plan to let participants know more about their placement by break.

-Lucas Knight-Vezina, Alternative Breaks Student Coordinator

Interested in Alternative Breaks? Visit https://communityoutreach.uconn.edu/alternativebreaks/

Community Service Days

CSD wrapped its final events for the semester on 12/4 and 12/5 with nearly full attendance all around! We look forward to receiving feedback from participants and community partners in the coming weeks to improve our program for the spring. See you next semester for another full slate of weekend events!

-Brian Fox, Program Director for Community Partner Relations

Interested in Community Service Days? Visit https://uconntact.uconn.edu/organization/cocsd

Enjoy this collage featuring pictures from CSD events this semester!
In Closing...

We'd like to give a huge "thank you" to all our wonderful staff members, student leaders, and student coordinators for your hard work this semester! We wish you all a very happy holiday season. See you in the new year for another wonderful semester of service!

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Have a happy holiday season!