The Wesleyan Connection

Wesleyan has set at a goal of raising $130,000 through its annual United Way workplace campaign, which kicked-off Oct. 6.

Wesleyan employees can help strengthen lives and improve community conditions in the 15 towns in Middlesex County by participating in the 2009-10 Middlesex United Way Campaign.

Wesleyan has set at a goal of raising $130,000 through its annual workplace campaign, which supports the building blocks of life – education, income, health and housing. Through the agencies it funds, United Way hopes to increase children’s readiness to learn by school entry; increase economic self-sufficiency of individuals and families; reduce the rate of risky behaviors among youth and adults; and increase the ability of individuals and families to attain affordable housing.

The campaign kicked-off Oct. 6.

“All of us can help,” Wesleyan President Michael Roth says. “We can assist a homeless family seeking shelter. We can help young people make good choices about behavior. We can ensure that children are ready to learn when they start school in our towns. We can look after neighbors who experience a devastating disruption of their lives and get them the help they need to recover. United Way supports all these efforts and much more.”

During the 2008-09 campaign, 160 local businesses and organizations, including Wesleyan, raised 65 percent of Middlesex United Way’s total during their annual workplace campaign. Wesleyan contributed $128,348, of which $1,172 was from a student bake sale.

“Wesleyan has always been a generous supporter of United Way, and the theme of ‘Live United’ speaks directly to the spirit of community service at Wes. United Way not only provides essential help for our neighbors with immediate needs, it’s also working to address the root causes of problems, such as homelessness, that people throughout Middlesex County have identified as important to solve,” says Wesleyan Campaign Chair Bill Holder, director of publications, editor of Wesleyan Magazine.

Employees can make a one-time donation or have funds withdrawn once a week, once every two weeks or once a month through Wesleyan’s payroll deduction plan. Department (more…)

Wesleyan hosted an Ethnic Bake Sale in the Usdan University Center Nov. 20 to benefit the Amazing Grace Food Pantry. Wesleyan raised $1,200 from the sale. (Photos by Intisar Abioto '09)

Swedish sweet bread, Greek jam cookies, Iranian walnut puffs and Irish soda bread were just a few tasty treats sold recently to benefit a local food pantry.

On Nov. 20, Wesleyan hosted an ethnic bake sale in the Usdan University Center. More than 70 bakers and volunteers contributed to the event, helping to raise almost $1,200 in two and a half hours. All proceeds were given directly to Middletown’s Amazing Grace Food Pantry.

Hundreds of baked goods were for sale.

“It was so wonderful to see the Wesleyan community come together as one and see what we could do for the community during these tough economic times,” says bake sale organizer Olga Bookas, (more…)

In 1996, Linda Putnam realized she was dying of metastatic colon cancer. She assumed she’d spend her last days of life in a nursing home.

“When we told her that she was going home to be with her family and be cared for by hospice nurses, she was relieved,” says Putnam’s daughter, Camille Dolansky, project coordinator for planned giving. “Having hospice care (more…)

"Where God Left His Shoes" will be shown at the Center for Film Studies Oct. 25 to raise funds for Middlesex County Homelessness Prevention Fund.

When Frank, Angela, and their two children are evicted from their New York City apartment, they have no choice but to move into a homeless shelter. After a few difficult months, an apartment becomes available in a nearby housing project. There’s only one catch: Frank needs a job in order to qualify or the apartment will get rented to someone else. While the rest of the city prepares for Christmas, Frank and his 10-year-old stepson, Justin, roam the cold streets of New York trying to find a job by day’s end.

While this is the story line for the feature film, “Where God Left His Shoes,” the same scenario resonates in the local community. (more…)