Community Action makes a personal connection

Jen Dixon Contributing Editor

While the Community Works campaign works to raise funds for a selected number of social service agencies, the College's Community Action coordinators work throughout the school year to place interested students in volunteer positions with these organizations and more.

Working under the auspices of the Field Work office, Community Action is comprised of five student coordinators focused upon different categories of volunteer work. Becca Weinberg ’06 works with Hunger and Homlessness-focused agencies, Ife Lloyd ’07 works with Youth Services, Lucy Robins ’08 works with Latino Outreach, Sara Weston ’07 works with Women's Services and Health, and Dan Bliss ’08 works with Disabilities Services.

Coordinators meet with interested students in their office on the first floor North side of Main Building, across the hall from the Field Work office.

“As Coordinators our job is to act as a liaison between Vassar students interested in volunteering in the community and Poughkeepsie agencies. This year, my focus has been on an agency-centric agenda in which we prioritize the needs of the local organizations and set up student volunteers according to these specific needs.”

Many of the agencies supported by Community Works, such as Dutchess Outreach, New Horizons, and Planned Parenthood, also receive Vassar volunteers through Community Action. The coordinators also place students with numerous other agencies, such as Hudson River Housing, which addresses the local homeless problem, Grace Smith House, which offers battered women's services, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Vassar Brothers’ Hospital and the public school system.

“It is my personal opinion and observation that if a student gets involved in a local agency and develops a real relationship and connection to the people whose lives revolve around this work, the student in turn becomes connected to the larger issues of social consciousness and responsibility,” said Weinberg. “As we move on from Vassar and become contributers to society, these lessons are among the most valuable we can learn during our years here.”