Community Connections Event at Ivy Tech

Bloomington , Indiana . Students at Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington will have an opportunity on September 22, 2005, to build connections with more than 40 community agencies and organizations at “Community Connections – Where Students and the Community Come Together.” The event will be held from 11:30 am until 3:30 pm in the Ivy Tech Student Commons.

The event is meant to provide students with opportunities to volunteer for non-profit and other community organizations and at the same time to give students a background in the number of agencies that can assist them or others they know. Community Connections is part of Ivy Tech’s Center for Civic Engagement initiative.

John Whikehart, Ivy Tech Community College – Bloomington Chancellor, sees the Community Connections event as a natural reflection of the campus commitment to civic engagement. “Providing students opportunities to connect with agencies that help in our community is one of the goals of our Center for Civic Engagement. It is our hope that students will spend time volunteering during their college career, and that their individual experiences, coupled with the service learning projects our faculty develop in their academic programs, will be remembered and replicated after their graduation.”

With recent events such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is expected that many will have a renewed interest in volunteering. Agencies will set up and staff booths in the campus Student Commons and students and members of the public will have an opportunity to talk with representatives from organization(s) in which they have an interest.

Admissions is free. For more information, contact Joe Kapsa, Assistant Director of Student Support & Development, at 812-330-6024.

Participating agencies include:

American Red Cross-Monroe County Chapter

Area 10 Agency on Aging & Community Services

Rural Transit/Public Mass Transportation

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Bloomington Area Arts Council

Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington

Crestmont Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington

Center for Women’s Ministries

CHADD

Child Adult Resource Services

Citizen Advocacy of South Central Indiana, Inc.

City of Bloomington

Community and Family Resources Department

Parks and Recreation

Volunteer Network

Community Justice & Mediation Center

Community Kitchen of Monroe County

Family Service Association/Mental Health Alliance

The Franklin Initiative

Girls Incorporated of Monroe County

Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County

Hoosier Hills Food Bank

Hoosier Hills PACT

Hospice of Bloomington Hospital/Bloomington Hospital Home Health & Hospice

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Indiana University Center for Human Growth

Indiana University School of Law

Martha’s House

Monroe County Health Dept.

Monroe County Probation & Community Corrections

Monroe County Public Library

Monroe County United Ministries

Options for Better Living

People & Animal Learning Services

Pinnacle School

South Central Community Action

Southern Indiana Center for Independent Living

Sycamore Services

WellSpring

WFHB Community Radio

WonderLab Museum

Work One Bloomington