Campus Community Connections

Community newsletter | June 2020

Greetings from all of us at the Center for Civic Engagement!

As our staff has taken time to reflect on COVID-19 over the past few weeks, we have focused on the importance of flexibility, compassion, innovation and cooperation in moving our community through tough and unusual days. Meaningful engagement is more critical than ever, and although we do not have clarity about what the fall semester will bring, we do know that collaborative partnerships are essential for the growth and development of our community.

Many of you may not be able to host on-site volunteers or interns as you have in the past, but we encourage you to think creatively about how we might still work together to support your organizational goals and to provide critical learning experiences for our students. As always, our staff is available to talk with you about any project ideas or thoughts you have! You can reach us at 607-777-4287 or cce@binghamton.edu.

In order to assist in the process, we have also put together some tips to think about when organizing remote or virtual service opportunities within your organization. We look forward to hearing from you and hope that summer brings you joy and rest!

Kelli Huth
Director, Center for Civic Engagement

Restarting Binghamton

For more information about Binghamton University's reopening plan, visit the Restarting Binghamton webpage.

Engaging Students in Successful Virtual Internships and Volunteer Opportunities

An information session for nonprofits and community organizations

11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Aug. 4

As we navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual internships and volunteer experiences provide an opportunity to contribute to your organization’s mission and add capacity to your team while supporting student professional development and protecting public health. Join the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development and the Center for Civic Engagement for an information session on successfully engaging student interns and volunteers in virtual experiences. Staff will share information and resources to recruit students and review best practices for designing and managing remote experiences.

This session will be tailored to the needs of nonprofits and other community organizations, and will provide time for questions and follow up with staff.

Center for Civic Engagement commitment to racial justice

As an office committed to meaningful engagement with the community and active participation in democratic and civic life, the CCE staff have spent time listening and reflecting on where we have fallen short in addressing systemic racism, both within our campus and in the larger community, and how we can anti-racism actions more central to our work. As such, we have committed to some initial action steps, which can be found on our website.

Read our full statement online.

Student engagement stories

Community Engagement course immigration stories

Working with the Binghamton American Civic Association, students shared their families’ immigration stories in an effort to help people empathize with others' struggles.

Engaging Binghamton students in the 2020 Census

The student population is historically undercounted in census efforts, resulting in hard-hitting ramifications in federal funding and political representation for the communities they attend school in and should be counted in. The CCE has been working hard to "Get out the Count" among college students in Binghamton.

Youth Initiative interns remain connected to students virtually

Despite the pandemic closing schools, Binghamton University students continued to be active CCE Youth Initiative interns at St. James Elementary School in Johnson City through virtual learning.

Maeve Kelly, Excellence in Community Engagement award winner

2019-20 Excellence in Community Engagement awards

The CCE was thrilled to announce the winners of the inaugural Community Engagement Excellence awards, recognizing both an individual student and a student organization for excellence in community engagement.