April 30, 2016

Students Engage in Inaugural Vermont "TRiO is Working" Service Day

Students and staff from Trio Programs across Vermont and Northern New York organized and engaged in various service learning projects on college campuses and local communities to give back and highlight the important contributions individuals can accomplish when working together!  Wearing bright blue "TRiO is Working" t-shirts, several hundred participants gathered at five locations to undertake various service projects. The TRiO programs have a long history of engaging in service learning projects, but this was the first organized effort to establish a statewide day of service. Northern Vermont University- Johnson Upward Bound Director and TRiO is Working Day organizer Tony Blueter commented "this was a wonderful day highlighting the outstanding work ethic, passion and commitment our TRiO students bring to their classrooms, campuses and communities each day."    

The TRiO programs are a set of federally-funded college opportunity programs that motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a college degree. They are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.  Approximately 790,000 low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities - from sixth grade through college graduation - are served by over 2,800 programs nationally. TRiO programs provide academic tutoring, personal counseling, mentoring, financial guidance, and other supports necessary for educational access and retention.

TRiO students are first generation college bound and from modest income families and/or are students with disabilities. Vermont's TRiO programs are federally funded educational opportunity programs assisting just over 7,500 middle school, high school and college bound adults throughout the state.  Vermont's 13 Federal TRiO programs include Talent Search, Educational Opportunity Centers and GEAR UP, all hosted by VSAC, and the college based Student Support Services, and Upward Bound.  Combined, these programs bring over 8.7 million dollars in federal funds to promote access to and success in higher education for Vermont students.

TRiO students and staff spent the day engaged in the following projects.

Johnson, VT: Clean-up of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail

This project was a true community collaboration bringing together volunteers from across Lamoille County.  The day started with a morning community orientation presented by Donna Higgons, President of The Friends of The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail FriendsLVRT.org, Elly Ventura, Outreach and Communications Coordinator of the Lamoille Regional Solid Waste Management District www.facebook.com/LRSWMD and Tony Blueter, Director of the Northern Vermont University- Johnson Upward Bound program www.facebook.com/UpwardJSCBound. The event took place along a 17 mile portion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail from Morristown to Cambridge where participants picked up and bagged debris from the scenic trail. The garbage and recyclables collected were accepted at Lamoille Regional Solid Waste Management District transfer stations at no charge thanks to the advocacy work of Tricia Follert of Town of Morristown, using trucks supplied by The Friends of The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.  The afternoon featured a BBQ lunch followed by a rally highlighted by speeches from Northern Vermont University- Johnson President Elaine Collins and Alex Craven from Senator Bennie Sander's office.

Lyndonville, VT: Hope Color Run

Northern Vermont University- Lyndon Upward Bound students and staff assisted with the HOPE Color Run in Lyndonville. The Hope Color Run is a celebration of color to benefit the varied community projects of HOPE.  H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everyday) is a private, nonprofit agency helping families and individuals with life's basic needs.  Upward Bound students and staff volunteered to help set up the event, took part in the run itself, and threw paint, and organized the children's race.  Many students also participated in the Run. It was a wonderful day spent in support of HOPE. This event hosted more than 300 participants in downtown Lyndonville and enough funds were raised to support three months of the backpack meals program!

Rutland, VT: Community Clean-up Projects

TRiO participants turned out to participate in various outdoor projects around the Castleton area, including picking up litter through the university's Green-Up program.

Burlington, VT: Potting & Delivering plants to residents on Isham Street

The UVM Office of Student and Community Relations, the UVM Community Coalition, the UVM TRIO Upward Bound Program students, and residents of the Burlington Health and Rehab Center gathered to pot plants on Isham St. and then deliver them to residents as part of the annual efforts to build community and a safety net on the street.  Members knocked on doors to share with residents ISGOOD's (Isham St. Gardening and Other Optimistic Doings) commitment to the street and to raise their awareness about its activities.  Participants also thanked residents for the progress made on Isham Street, as well as encouraging their continued partnership to keep the positive momentum going.

Randolph, VT: Spring Clean-up

TRiO staff and students will be engaged in spring cleanup Saturday morning at the Chandler Center for the Arts and the Randolph Library. They engaged in gardening, window washing and recycling project for these mainstay non-profit organizations of the Randolph community.

Plattsburgh, NY

The Plattsburgh UB and SSS programs joined the Plattsburgh women's soccer team on a 5K Color Run to benefit Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Their longtime friend Bernie Marcus donated $25 million to help financially launch the organization. Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.