Center for Community Partnerships

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Diana Martinez and a few of her colleagues from the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP) were up early at Usdan to fill their cars with 200 pies, destined for the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project. The project, housed at Fellowship Baptist Church on Saybrook Road, distributes the trappings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to people across the community. “There is value in the communal aspects of coming together for a common cause. I think that is the feeling we are trying to imbue into all of our students,” Martinez said. While Martinez, the assistant…

Over winter break, 16 students traveled to a variety of locations around the United States to support voter registration, participate in political campaigns, and work with advocacy groups as part of the Wesleyan Engage 2020 (E2020) initiative. E2020 is a comprehensive university effort to support student learning via civic engagement and liberal arts education. On Feb. 19, students gathered in Allbritton Hall to share their reflections on their winter session E2020 experiences. Some sought to educate young people about the electoral process and mobilize them to vote; others worked on issues such as immigration, criminal justice reform, housing justice, and…

Wesleyan’s new Engage 2020 Initiative (E2020) is facilitating student educational experiences in the public sphere ahead of the 2020 elections. As part of this initiative, Wesleyan also is highlighting the contributions of higher education more broadly in promoting democracy. Over the past few months, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 has been speaking with other higher education leaders about the “shared responsibilities of higher education institutions for developing civically engaged citizens and contributing to the civic life of the United States.” While the particulars of this work may look different at each institution, leaders at schools around the US have registered…

The first cohort of students participating in the Wesleyan Engage 2020 (E2020) initiative dedicated their winter breaks to working for voter registration and issues advocacy groups, as well as for a range of candidates for presidential, congressional, and local offices. The 16 students participating over winter break were stationed in states as far-flung as Georgia and Alaska, New York and Arizona. Wesleyan awarded over $20,000 to assist with participants’ living and travel expenses while they conducted this work. Many students chose to work with organizations advocating for particular issues, including criminal justice reform, housing justice, reproductive rights, and immigration. Others…

Nearly 20 Wesleyan students are dedicating their winter breaks to civic participation. Eighteen Wesleyan students will spend a portion of December and January engaging in projects related to voter registration and issues advocacy in Iowa, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona, amongst others states through the Wesleyan Engage 2020 Initiative. E2020 is a comprehensive University effort to support student learning via civic engagement and liberal arts education. “This will be an intense learning experience for students,” said Clifton Watson, director for the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships. “Students will engage folks from diverse backgrounds—across the country—during a unique…

Wesleyan's community-based radio station, WESU 88.1 FM, celebrated its 80th anniversary on Dec. 8 with a Free Form Jubilee. The event, held in the Daniel Family Commons, featured special musical performances and talks by local dignitaries. Established in 1939, WESU began as one of the first student-owned and -operated radio stations in the country. That fall, Wesleyan freshman Arch Doty Jr. began broadcasting his homemade 1-watt AM transmitter from his Clark Hall dorm room. Eighty years later, WESU is among the largest student groups on Wesleyan’s campus, uniting nearly 150 student and community volunteer broadcasters. The event featured Noah Baerman,…

At the 2019 ALL IN Challenge Awards Ceremony held to recognize colleges and universities committed to increasing college student voting rates, Wesleyan received a gold seal for achieving a student rate between 40% and 49%. A full list of seal awardees can be viewed here. "Wesleyan University is proud to receive this national recognition for our efforts," said Rob Rosenthal, interim provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs. "It is a core part of our educational mission to develop bold and rigorous practical idealists, thoughtful and brave participants in the public sphere. Our faculty, staff, administrators, and students are…

This spring, nine student ventures received grants from the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP) Student Innovation Fund. These student efforts are representative of the JCCP’s commitment to cocreate mutually respectful partnerships in pursuit of a just, equitable, and sustainable future for communities beyond the campus—nearby and around the world. The Student Innovation Fund provides up to $750 for spring or summer projects that prioritize: Collaboration between student groups, faculty/staff, and/or community partners. Investigation of the impact of our civic engagement efforts. Sharing of ideas and learnings in civic engagement on campus and beyond. The recipients are: Jessica Brandon ’20 and Rebecca Goldfarb Terry…

On Feb. 24, Wesleyan hosted a "hackathon" for social good in collaboration with Random Hacks of Kindness Jr. The free event introduced more than 50 local children in grades 4 through 8 to technology and showed them how it could be used to create solutions that benefit nonprofit organizations. About half the children came from Middletown, while others came from as far away as Greenwich, Griswold and West Hartford to participate. Seven Wesleyan students and two staff members served as volunteer mentors, working with the children to devise computer applications that addressed a range of problems facing local organizations. Five nonprofit social…

Wesleyan, in collaboration with Random Hacks of Kindness Jr., is hosting a “hackathon” for social good for students in grades 4 through 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. This free event, to be held in Beckham Hall, will show local youth how technology can be used to create solutions that benefit nonprofit organizations. The hackathon is open to the public and requires no prior coding experience. “Participants will be working with Wesleyan student mentors to create technology for social good,” explained Patrice Gans, president and executive director of Random Hacks of Kindness Jr. “By the…

This fall, Wesleyan students and staff took part in the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project, an annual collaborative effort to provide Thanksgiving meals for families in need. Wesleyan was one of 70 community partners for the project, led by Fellowship Church in Middletown.

On Nov. 24, dozens of low-income Middletown families will enjoy a Thanksgiving Day feast courtesy of a local food pantry and the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships at Wesleyan. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 18, four Wesleyan students, three alumni and JCCP staff are hosting Middletown Community Thanksgiving Basket Project registration at Amazing Grace Food Pantry in Middletown. Families who sign up will receive a baked turkey and traditional fixings on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the JCCP is hosting a Stuffing and Gravy Drive (jars or cans) from now until Nov. 18. Boxes are placed in North College, Usdan, Olin, Freeman Athletic Center and Allbritton. Wesleyan volunteers…

Students Seek Ways to Engage with the Middletown Community

Students Discuss Recent Engage 2020 Experiences

Engage 2020 Off to a Running Start

Students Volunteer with Civic Organizations Over Winter Break

Students to Work in Public Sphere Over Winter Break

WESU 88.1 FM Celebrates 80th Anniversary with Free Form Jubilee

Wesleyan Earns Gold Seal for Student Voting Rates

Students Receive Innovation Fund Grants from the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships

Local Youth Learn How to Use Technology for Social Good at “Hackathon”

Wesleyan Will Host Youth “Hackathon” for Social Good, Feb. 24

Wesleyan Students, Staff Participate in Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project

Students Help Local Residents Prepare for a Thanksgiving Day Feast