It’s been a while since my last blog post, and I think that’s reflective of how busy I’ve been in the past couple of months. In working to build a Civic Engagement Center at Salem State, I spent much of my fall semester hearing the needs of local community-based organizations, and am now starting to help make the connections between those organizations and the people at Salem State who might best be able to work with those identified collaboration opportunities. The hope is not one-time opportunities, but rather long term relationships between the institution and the community.

The other half of my role is to support student civic engagement efforts, which has been anything from planning a volunteer fair, to helping plan a Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break to southern Georgia, to encouraging students to give urgently needed blood to Red Cross. Obviously Haitian relief efforts have been a focus of service efforts across the country over the past month, and Salem State is no exception. With over 150 students who identify as Haitian or Haitian American, the crisis has significantly impacted many on campus. Several student organizations have sponsored fund raisers which have raised over $5,000 for the Red Cross and other relief agencies. It has been incredible to see the outpouring of support on campus during this time of need.

- Jay Helmer

I attended one of my favorite events for this MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA year. I held an information table at the Dorchester FAMILY School Initiative (DFSI) Community Night. If you don’t know, DFSI is a partnership connecting three Boston public elementary schools (Holmes, Lee, and Fifield) to health and social service organizations (SCI and Dotwell among others).

I first learned about DFSI at an event run by the Office of Family and Student Engagement at Boston Public Schools. There I met the Family and Community Outreach Coordinator at Holmes, who connected me to staff at Lee and Fifield. In the fall, I had the privilege to meet parents and lead presentations about the Scholarship for Parents at parent council meetings, open houses, and other special nights for these schools.

At quite a few events, I kept running into the DFSI Community Liaison/AmeriCorps Member, who invited me to this community night. It was held at Lee Elementary and included families from all three schools in the initiative. There was dinner, raffles, performances by the students, and a speech from Mayor Menino! The purpose of the DFSI Community Night was not only to have fun but also to connect families to organizations in Boston. MATCH Charter, Boston After School and Beyond, and TechBoston were among the numerous organizations sharing resources with families.

I knew the event would be big, but it was much larger than I had anticipated. Even Mayor Menino mentioned how he was pleasantly surprised with the high turnout for the community night in his speech.

Thinking back about the night, I can’t be too surprised with the turnout. It’s just a testament to how effective partnerships like DFSI can be when community organizations and schools proactively collaborate to engage families.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m a fan of the initiative. To learn more about DFSI, check out http://www.mydorchester.org/DFSI.

Peace,

Lindsay