SERVICE SATURDAYS
This fall semester we had five major service projects, worked with four different community partners, and collaborated with a variety of campus organizations.
• In early fall we partnered with the Intersectional Feminist Collective (IFC) in volunteering at Mack Park Food Farm where we harvested vegetables, composted, and prepared garden beds for winter.
• In October we collaborated with STEM organizations and the Bittersweet Brigade to remove the invasive bittersweet plant on Winter Island.
• We had so much interest from students in our urban farming opportunity in November at Newhall Fields Community Farm that we had to offer a second volunteer site at Mack Park. Students enjoyed planting garlic, harvesting herbs, seeds, and winterizing garden beds. We were excited to partner with the Honors Program and the Center for International Education for our November Service Saturday.
• The Salem Pantry welcomed us to their warehouse in December where students helped load pallets for their brick-and-mortar location downtown, got an exclusive tour of the store front, and helped pick out food for Thursday’s Mobile Market at Salem State.
We are grateful to our partners who are so eager to work with our campus community. If you are interested in volunteering or partnering on future projects, please email us at cce@salemstate.edu.
Consider joining us for the upcoming Service Saturdays:
• April 6, 2024, with Salem Sound Coastwatch
OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY ON CAMPUS
In the state of Massachusetts 1 in 3 college students are struggling with food insecurity. A challenge that directly impacts our campus community. There are two great ways to be active in the food justice movement on campus.
The first is to join the SSU Hunger Free Campus Coalition. This Coalition consists of students, faculty, staff, and community partners committed to destigmatizing food insecurity on our campus, increasing students’ access to basic needs, and advocating for the Hunger Free Campus Bill. The Coalition meets monthly on the third Monday of the month from 12–1 pm in the Charlotte Forten Room or on Zoom.
The second opportunity is to serve as a volunteer at the Salem Pantry Mobile Market on our campus. Volunteers are needed Thursdays from 10:45–12:15 pm outside of Marsh Hall on Harrington Campus (Central) and from 3:45–5 pm and 5–6 pm on North Campus outside of the Ellison Campus Center. Please email the CCE at cce@salemstate.edu if interested in either opportunity.
CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT NEWSLETTER |
FALL 2023
This fall semester the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) was committed to creating spaces where students, faculty, and staff could connect over shared interests and passions. We intentionally created spaces where folks could openly share about themselves, their lived experiences, and engage in active listening with the goal of learning and understanding. Sharing our stories is a powerful advocacy tool but it is also essential for transforming communities. The CCE is invested in continuing to help students find their passion, purpose, and their people. We will continue to provide opportunities for students to network and learn from each other and community leaders. When we create spaces for students to show up as their authentic selves, it allows them to ask important questions, challenge the status quo, and dream of a better future for themselves and their communities.
May the upcoming year inspire us all with renewed energy to create stronger and more compassionate communities.
- Kate Adams, Assistant Director
DAY OF SERVICE
We had a blast kicking off the fall semester with yet another successful Day of Service! The CCE and First Year Experience (FYE) office were thrilled to once again welcome first year students to campus and help them build community and belonging while working with local nonprofit organizations.
cce@salemstate.edu
FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
978-542-2545 @SalemStateCCE CENTER
ADVOCACY MONTH
This year’s Advocacy Month occurs in March. The theme is Reimagining the World: As It Is, As It Should Be, The Space Between. Our campus community will learn the advocacy skills and tactics needed to bridge the gap between the world as it is now, to the world we wish for it to be.
Keynote Address: Tuesday March 5, 2024, from 1:40–2:55 pm in the MLK Room in the Ellison Campus Center.
To view the full list of calendar events please visit the website at: salemstate.edu/advocacymonth24
CIVIC DINNER SERIES
We launched our 3rd Annual Civic Dinner Series by celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a dinner focused on immigration and education access. Students were eager to engage with Elsabel Rincon the Executive Director of the Welcoming Immigrant Network, Regina Zaragoza Frey the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Director of Salem, and Stephanie Rosario Rodriguez from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. In honor of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week our second dinner centered on campus hunger. Students learned from Kate Adams the Public Policy Manager at Greater Boston Food Bank, Fred Norton the Food Acquisition and Distribution Manager at the Salem Pantry, Mallory Strain in the Office of State Representative Andy X. Vargas, and Kathleen O’Neil the Director of the Single Stop Program at Bunker Hill Community College. The advocates shared their expertise and provided our campus community with concrete ways to effectively address this community challenge on our campus and in the wider community.
Consider joining us for the upcoming Civic Dinners
• Disability Advocacy: February 21, 2024, 5:30 -7:30 pm in the Ellison Campus Center, Underground Room.
• Sexual Violence Prevention and Survivor Advocacy: March 27, 2024, 5:30-7:30 pm in the Ellison Campus Center, MLK Room.
CIVIC FELLOWS COHORT 2023- 2024
We are excited to welcome our new cohort of Civic Fellows! This fall they have been learning about the Salem community and the needs of the city. They met with the mayor’s office and participated in an Italian heritage month flag raising, connected with City Councilor Andy Varela, worked on his farm, and learned about the Point Neighborhood from Shantel Alix, Director of Community Building at the North Shore Community Development Coalition. Our friends at the Salem Pantry welcomed the fellows to their distribution warehouse where they learned about the important work of their agency and volunteered to help clean their Market. They also received training in advocacy skills and tactics and Government 101. Two of this year’s Civic Fellows serve as the Co-Chairs of the SSU Hunger Free Campus Coalition and many other fellows have served as members or supported the mission of the coalition including volunteering at the Mobile Market Launch Party.
COMMUNITY PARTNER BREAKFAST
Our Annual Community Partner Breakfast was a success! Over 60 faculty, staff, and community partners attended with the goal of fostering relationships and discovering opportunities for collaboration. The event was buzzing with energy and faculty and guests were so eager to connect with folks with similar goals and passions. Cynthia Lynch, Assistant Vice Provost for Civic Engagement and Academic Strategic Support and Elisa Castillo, Assistant Vice President for HSI-MSI Initiatives shared briefly about our Strategic Plan and our commitment to becoming an emerging Hispanic and Minority serving institution.
Caroline Scott, the CCE’s Graduate Assistant then introduced the “Pressing Matters” survey that asked folks to share the top three pressing matters of our time. Guests were then asked to select one of the three issues and reflect on how that issue has manifested itself in the world today. She then asked folks to think about how we move the “world as it is” closer to “the world as it should be” and brainstorm collective actions to take to ensure meaningful change is possible. Guests left Caroline’s session with a renowned sense of hope and newfound partnerships to support them in making the world better than they found it.
STUDENTS WITH STUDENTS: A CULTURAL MELTING POT
In partnership with The Center for International Education we launched Students with Students: A Cultural Melting Pot, an event designed to build community and belonging among our international and domestic students. This event included a meal, activities to learn about one another, and opportunities to share how American customs and traditions differ from other countries. Students were energized and developed new friendships.
Be on the lookout for our next Students with Students event on:
• Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 4:30-6 pm
• Wednesday, April 10, 2024 from 4:30-6:30 pm
MOBILE MARKET AND LAUNCH PARTY
On November 9, 2023, The Salem Pantry Mobile Market arrived on our campus to support campus community members experiencing food insecurity. The market is located on Harrington Campus on Thursdays from 11–12 pm outside of Atlantic Hall and in the evening from 4–5:30 pm on North Campus outside of the Ellison Campus Center. The SSU Hunger Free Campus Coalition held a launch party to celebrate this achievement with the Salem Pantry. This event included registering students so they can shop for free at the mobile market, providing an ice cream sundae bar, tours of the SSU Pantry, and the opportunity for campus community members to provide feedback to Professor Kunberger’s graphic design class on marketing materials they developed for the SSU pantry.
