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"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."
- Coretta Scott King
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Alumni and Student Spotlights | | |
Rylee Thomas
Former Student Communications Coordinator
Class of 2024
A proud UConn CO alum, Rylee graduated in May 2024 with a dual degree in English and Communication with a concentration in creative writing. During her wonderful and rewarding three years with CO, Rylee served as the Student Communications Coordinator on the PR team. She managed the CO Instagram and wrote this exact newsletter for three years. She is so proud to be featured in it now as a recent graduate!
Combining her love of content creation with creativity, Rylee works as a Marketing Associate for Partner in Publishing (PIP), a full-service edtech marketing agency that partners with Cengage, National Geographic, Lego, and many other educational publishers you may know. Naturally, her passion for writing and posting for organizations that matter began with CO! She is endlessly grateful for all the CO experiences that led her to where she is now. Rylee’s favorite CO memories include running office hours with her fellow members of the PR team, planning August training, and volunteering during CO days of service.
When not working, Rylee loves working on writing her novel, going figure skating on Saturday mornings, and spending time with her friends and her dog.
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Sydney Seldon
Give and Go Program Director
Sydney is a senior majoring in Environmental Science & Sustainable Communities major. She currently serves as the Program Director for Give & Go, a role that allows her to lead a program dedicated to sustainability and community support.
Her journey with CO began during her freshman year when she attended Community Service Days. She never imagined that she would become deeply engaged in a community committed to meaningful change. Reflecting on her experience, she shares, “Little did I know that in the years to come, I would be immersed in a community devoted to transformative service opportunities and be entrusted with revamping a program that contributes to a mission far greater than I can accomplish independently.” One of her favorite CO memories was meeting community partners as they picked up donations from last year’s Give & Go collection. She describes the feeling of seeing months of planning come to fruition as “indescribable.”
Outside of CO she finds joy in meaningful conversations, whether in community or in solitude, reflecting on life’s big questions. She enjoys throwing dinner parties, going on walks, attending concerts spontaneously, and watching the sunrise. A deeply spiritual person and reader, she loves exploring a wide range of texts from the Bible to Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
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Jumpstart Donating Literacy Kits
Jumpstart Community Engagement Coordinators, Izzy and Paige, took a trip out into the community in early March to deliver literacy kits to two different locations in Vernon/Rockville. Over the fall semester in collaboration with volunteers, clubs around campus, and Jumpstart members over 140 literacy kits were created surrounding 3 different core story books. About 75 of the literacy kits were donated to Academy of Art and Learning, a previous program partner of Jumpstart. The remaining, approximately 65 literacy kits were donated to a local library in Rockville, CT. Thank you to all our volunteers and Jumpstart members who helped us in surpassing our goal of serving 120 children during our program year!
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HuskyTHON Night-Of 2025
The CO team attended the HuskyTHON Night-Of dance marathon on March 8th, led by Ashley Kennedy and Isabela Londono. Our team miracle child, Luca, and his family joined us for this dance marathon event! Led by team captains Isabela Londono and Ashley Kennedy, our team exceeded its $7000 fundraising goal, contributing to the $2.1 million raised by UConn students this year.
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Professional Development
On February 27th, Student Leaders and staff had the opportunity to learn about “Preparing for Courageous Conversations in a Divided World” with speaker Jonelle Reynolds, P.h.D. In this event, we learned about navigating power dynamics, building accountability and boundaries, and intentional communication.
Thank you to Jonelle Reynolds and to all our student leaders who attended this educational event!
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Special Olympics & CIAC Basketball Tournament
The Special Olympics Events Committee volunteered at the annual Special Olympics & CIAC Basketball Tournament hosted at Gampel Pavilion on March 13th. The committee helped with setup, ran basketball skill stations, cheered on athletes during games, distributed medals to all players, and helped with cleanup. This event was a unique opportunity to bring together five schools from across Connecticut to showcase their talent, teamwork, and sportsmanship. The committee was proud to contribute to such an inspiring event and to contribute to creating a more supportive and inclusive environment.
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Give and Go
Give & Go provides students with an easy and accessible way to donate unwanted items during move-out rather than throwing them away. By partnering with local community organizations, the program ensures that quality items are distributed to individuals and families who need them.
After a five-year hiatus, Give & Go successfully relaunched in 2024, diverting more than 8,000 pounds of items from incineration. Donations were distributed to organizations and community partners such as WAIM, Covenant Soup Kitchen, Holy Family Home and Shelter, Journey Home, and many others. With a small but dedicated team the program made a significant impact. In 2025 the goal is to expand its reach even further.
A special thank you to Eliza Appleton, a CO alumni whose hard work was instrumental in making Give & Go 2024 possible. As well as the dedicated 2025 planning committee, who are working behind the scenes to continue the program’s success.
Give & Go 2025 Collection Dates:
May 8–10 and May 12
Volunteers Needed to help sort, clean, and organize donations to ensure items reach those who need them most. Groups and individuals can sign up here.For any questions, email uconn.co.giveandgo@gmail.com.
For updates and more information, follow @giveandgo_huskies on Instagram.
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Second Chance Educational Alliance
Second Chance Educational Alliance is a program that supplements education in correctional institutions by preparing volunteers to tutor incarcerated people in science, math, business, writing, and reading comprehension. The program aims to decrease recidivism, bring awareness to community issues, and reduce the stigma associated with the prison population. This program allows students to learn teaching skills, meet other UConn volunteers, engage with the community, and make a difference helping others!
The program is currently underway. Please contact uconn.co.correctional@gmail.com if you're interested in joining in upcoming semesters.
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Windham Hospital Volunteer Program
In the Windham Hospital program, students can volunteer once a week in various departments at Windham Hospital or as an EMT. The main goal of the program is to help at the hospital by alleviating as much stress as possible from healthcare providers, giving patients a good in-hospital experience, and positively contributing to the Windham Hospital environment.
The program, led by student leaders Roma Kale and Riddhi Bansal, currently has about 20 participants. Volunteers are in the middle of their second semester shifts, feeling oriented to their departments.
Windham Hospital recruits volunteers in the fall for the academic year. If you have questions or are interested in getting involved next year, please contact uconn.co.windhosp@gmail.com.
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Trans Day of Visibility
March 31 from 6:30-8:00pm
Rainbow Center
Join us for an evening of storytelling and community at this open mic event hosted in collaboration with the Rainbow Center and their FAMILEE mentoring program! Share your story or listen and celebrate trans voices.
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CO Senior Reflection
April 2 from 5:00-7:00pm
MCHU 108
This event is open for all Community Outreach Leaders & Participants who are graduating in May of 2025 (or slightly after) who are interested in taking some time to reflect upon their time at UConn and within CO. There will be some time for individual reflection as well as group sharing.
Space is limited, so please RSVP here to secure your spot.
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Women's History Month
March is Women's History Month. This yeaar, the theme is "Moving Forward Together!" CO honors the resilience, achievements, and contributions of women throughout history and in our own community.
Join the Women's Center tomorrow from 11:30am-1:30pm to celebrate "Empowered Harmony: A Day of Unity, Diversity, and Accelerated Action." Click here for more information.
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Job Opportunities
Are you graduating soon and looking for a job? Visit these resources to find jobs, internships, and service opportunities in nonprofits and common good organizations.
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Follow our socials!
@uconnoutreach
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