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  • NEW! Applications for Alumni Association grants are now being accepted. Deadline for submission: October 23, 2009. Download an application.

  • To read about the recent Kids in Computing (KIC) event that brought more than 100 local elementary, middle, and high school students to campus, click here. KIC was awarded a $2,500 Alumni Association grant this year. See the photo album/slide show of the event.
  • To read about the Alternative Spring Break program, which received a $600 Alumni Association grant, click here.
  • To read about the Alumni Association awarding more than $15,000 in grants in January, 2008, click here.

 

The purpose of the the Western New England College Alumni Association Grants Program is to offer grants to alumni or members of the College community that support current student programs, student organization initiatives, Alumni Association initiatives, and student and alumni athletics.

Details of the program are as follows:

• Applicant(s) must be an alumnus, student, staff, or faculty member of the Western New England College community.

• The application form must be completed in its entirety and submitted to the Office of Alumni Relations by 4:00 p.m. on October 23, 2009.

• The proposed project must follow and be related to the stated purpose of the Grants Program as stated above.

• The Alumni Association funds projects in the $500 - $2,500 range. Awarding of funds and the amount of the award is at the discretion of the Grants Committee.

• Applications must be submitted online or must be type-written.

• Applicants selected for final review may be required to meet with the Grants Committee to discuss the merits of their proposals.

• Grant recipients are required to provide a final report to the Alumni Association Board of Directors detailing the success of the project funded and its impact on the College, students or alumni.

If you are interested in applying, please contact Linda LaCoille at llacoill@wnec.edu or 413-796-2240 or click here to download an application.

 

Alumni Grants News

May 2009:

Possibilities Children’s Safety Symposium Scholarships
Available for Western New England College Alumni

possibilities514gifThe Third Annual Possibilities Children’s Safety Symposium at Western New England College June 4 and 5 is a national conference presented in recognition of National Missing Children’s Month and designed to offer quality training and information on topics and model programs of interest to leaders in the health and safety of our nation’s children.

Scholarships for alumni are available, thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Alumni Association Grants Program. Those interested in applying for the scholarship should visit www.onechildatatime.net and click on the organization’s scholarship tab at the top of the page.

The event also includes the Sixth Annual radKids Dinner Banquet on June 4. Participants may attend their choice of a variety of workshops on child abuse and neglect prevention and educational programs or may select workshops for specialized training credits and professional development.

The speakers are:

Dr. Sharon Cooper, MD, FAAP, is the CEO of Developmental and Forensic Pediatrics, PA, a consulting firm that provides medical care, training, and expert witness experience in child maltreatment cases, as well as medical care for children with disabilities. She works regularly with numerous national and international investigative agencies on Internet crimes against children cases.

Judge Gail Garinger heads the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent office, which represents a commitment of Gov. Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Legislature to improve services to children and families in the Commonwealth.

Special guests include Ed and Elizabeth Smart, John and Magi Bish, Erin Runnion, and others from Surviving Parents Coalition.

For more information, contact Judy Curran at 413-796-2324.

February, 2009:

Fourth Annual Alternative Spring Break Pasta Dinner
Raises More Than $1,600 for Volunteer Service

pastadinner2009.gifPasta power! The Western New England College Alumni Association, through its grants program, sponsored the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Pasta Dinner on February 21 at the Church of the Acres. Over $1,600 was raised from tickets as more than 140 diners enjoyed great food and met the ASB students, who will dedicate their spring break to participating in community service. See a photo album/slide show of the dinner.

From March 14 to March 21 a team of 10 students will be serving in Kentucky, aiding with environmental conversation, at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Another team of 12 will be working with Habitat for Humanity, aiding with Hurricane Katrina relief, in Louisiana. A third group of 10 will be working with children with autism and emotional issues at the Pace School in Pittsburgh.

“For the past four years this dinner has brought students, faculty, and staff and the Springfield community together,” says Alternative Spring Break Coordinator Rose Gage. “There is a feeling of camaraderie as students talk with guests about the experiences they’ll be engaging in. This is a wonderful sendoff for students and gets them geared up for their travels.”

Pictured are Alternative Spring Break team leaders (L-R) Mike Melucci (co-leader, New Orleans), Mike Ormsby (co-leader, New Orleans); Shannon Rajala (Kentucky); Gage, who is the Assistant Director of Learning Beyond the Classroom (community involvement), and Amanda Poyant (Pittsburgh).

Melucci, Ormsby, Rajala, and Poyant are also 2008 winners of the Alumni Association Skookum Award of Excellence. Ormsby is a Royal Skookum, the second highest honor of the Skookum Award.

“The Alternative Spring Break Pasta dinner allowed us to share our love for service with the Springfield community,” said Ormsby. “I think it gives the people of Springfield a good feeling to know that students are working hard to make the world a better place, especially students in their own city.”

The grant to fund the Pasta Dinner was one of 18 grants totaling $28,260 that were recently awarded by the Alumni Association to 16 student organizations. In the past two years, the Alumni Association has awarded more than $76,000 in grants, which are funded by income from the Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchase made with the credit card benefits students.

December, 2008:

Alumni Association Awards Over $28,000 in Grants
For Student Programs on Campus and Beyond

guat_grants09.jpgA $2,500 Alumni Association grant will help fund a trip to Guatemala this May for 13 students who will spend 12 days helping bring fresh water to the town of San Lucas Toliman. The goal of the group, headed by Bruce Clemens, an assistant professor of management, and Steven Northrup, an associate professor of electrical engineering, is to enable the community to enhance its sustainability by improving its water distribution system. Pictured are the 13 students on last year’s trip.

The grant is one of 18 grants totaling $28,260 that were recently awarded by the Alumni Association to 16 student organizations. In the past two years, the Alumni Association has awarded more than $76,000 in grants, which are funded by income from the Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchase made with the credit card benefits students.

Also receiving $2,500 grants were the annual Possibilities Children's Safety Symposium on campus in June; the College’s C.A.R.E. organization (Community Activity Rewards Everyone) for its annual Spring Fling at the Gray House, a human services agency in Springfield’s North End Neighborhood; a Peer Mentoring Program for students with Asperger’s Syndrome (run by the Department of Psychology and Student Disability Services); the student rape awareness organization One in Four for presentation materials; and the V-Day Committee for an upcoming student production of The Vagina Monologues on campus, as well as the opening night reception.

The Cheerleading Club was the recipient of a $2,000 grant, which will help the organization purchase new uniforms.

Alternative Spring Break: Projects in New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Kentucky
Receiving a $1,500 grant was the Alternative Spring Break Program, which this spring will send students to rebuild a home in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, to Pittsburgh to help children with autism and emotional challenges at an alternative school, assist with trail repair and other projects at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky. The Alternative Spring Break Program was also the recipient of an Alumni Association grant last year.

Alpha Lambda Delta, the College chapter of national society that honors the academic excellence of freshman students, also received a $1,500 grant, which will help pay for a trip by its leadership team to a national conference in Anaheim.

A $1,260 grant will help the CareerCenter produce for a Life After College brochure for the Class of 2009, and a $1,100 grant to the Model United Nations Club will defray expenses for members attending conferences in Boston and at Mount Holyoke College in the spring.

Grants were also awarded to the Stageless Players for a pipe and drape system to provide a professional look for its productions ($1,400) and the campus chapter of the Psi Chi National Honor Society for it annual Psychology Alumni Symposium ($1,000).

C.A.R.E received an additional $1,000 grant to create a spring carnival at the Children's Study Home, a facility in Springfield’s Sixteen Acres neighborhood dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk children, youth, and families through educational, residential, and family services. C.A.R.E. also received a $500 to host a hunger banquet, an annual event that brings to light the uneven distribution of food in our world.

Receiving $750 grants were College’s Society of Women Engineers for an alumnae dinner, as well as the Management Association for its Springfield School Volunteers Program.

A $500 grant was awarded to student Daniel DelloRusso to help fund a trip to Boston in March to present a research paper at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Conference.

Helping Guatemalan Villagers and Students with Asperger’s Syndrome
Clemens and the students in his spring semester course, Management, Engineering, and Cultural Development in Guatemala will assist in not only a water distribution effort, but also variety of projects including road construction, reforestation, and working for a coffee growing and harvesting co-op. “We are very grateful for the support of the Alumni Association,” says Clemens. “This trip gives students a chance to make a difference in the lives of people who could definitely use their help.”

The Peer Mentoring Program for students with Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism, will help create a positive learning environment for a vulnerable student population, according to Bonnie Alpert, director of Student Disability Services. This program also received an Alumni Association grant last year. “When these individuals arrive at college, they tend to isolate themselves by staying in their rooms and failing to initiate contact with their peers,” says Alpert. The success or failure of the students, many of whom are awkward in social situations, often depends on support from college communities. In the College’s peer mentoring program, mentors meet with the students at least once a week, and they also stay in contact via email and telephone. The goal is to not only help students with Asperger’s assimilate on campus, but also to offer internship opportunities to students in the psychology department.

For more information on the Alumni Association grants program, click here.

 

November, 2008:

The Alumni Association Grants Program:
Making a Difference in the College Community

grantsgrayhouse.gifThe Alumni Association Grants Program has awarded more than $20,000 in grants since last spring to nine organizations on campus, including a $2,500 grant to the Volunteer Connection Center for its Make a Difference Weekend in October. View a photo album/slide show of Make a Difference Weekend.

“On October 18, 146 volunteers from the College traveled to 14 sites in the Springfield area and assisted with a variety of service projects, ranging from serving those who are homeless to painting a house through Habitat for Humanity,” says Rose Gage, service coordinator at the College’s Volunteer Connection Center. Pictured are students Ashley Peterson (left) and Megan Swanson helping run a Halloween party at the Gray House, a human service agency in Springfield’s North End.

The following day, 58 students and some faculty and staff members participated in the CROP Walk for Hunter in Springfield.

Other organizations and programs receiving $2,500 grants included the Alternative Spring Break Program, the Residence Hall Association, the 2008-2009 Creative Writing Series, Beta Alphi Psi (to attend the National Conference in Anaheim for this honorary organization of financial information students), the First Year Residential Experience Program, and the Biomedical Engineering Society.

The Diversity Task Force received a $1,800 grant, and the Connections Mentoring Program received a $1,400 grant.

In 2009, the Alternative Spring Break Program will send students to rebuild a home hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, and volunteers will also travel to Pittsburgh to help children with autism and emotional challenges at an alternative school. Amanda Poyant, a 2008 Skookum Award winner, will lead the project in Pittsburgh. Students will also assist with trail repair and other projects at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky. This environmental preservation project will be led by Shannon Rajala, a 2008 Skookum Award winner.

The grants are funded by income from the Alumni Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchase made with the credit card benefits student programs.

 

April, 2008:

Alumni Association Grant Helps Fund “Kids in
Computing” Event for Springfield Area Students

kic160.gifOn April 3 the College hosted more than 100 students from area elementary, middle, and high schools on for a Kids in Computing (KIC) event, which was organized by Dr. Ali Rafieymehr and made possible by a grant from the College’s Alumni Association, along with the support of various College offices, Atalasoft Inc. and other local businesses.

Students and professors from the College’s Computer Science and Information Technology program helped kids assemble new computers from the ground up (pictured). Once they built the computers, students used the machines to learn about the concepts of computer animation and participate in an animation contest. At the end of the day, the new computers were donated to the individual schools: Alfred M. Glickman Elementary, Minnechaug Regional High School, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Springfield High School of Science and Technology, and Suffield (CT) Middle School, along with a tutoring program run by The Black Men of Greater Springfield. To view a photo album/slide show of the event, click here.

The Alumni Association had awarded a $2,500 grant to KIC in January. “The Alumni Association has been very supportive and generous to KIC, in which local students also learn about software design,” says Rafieymehr, chair, Computer Science and Information Technology. “What’s also great about the program is that it brings our students out of the lab and into the community as role models, and the children gain an appreciation for the sciences.”

So far this year more than $15,000 in Alumni Association grants was also awarded to the following organizations and programs: the Department of Athletics, Alternative Spring Break, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Diversity Task Force, the Society of Women Engineers, Community Action Rewards Everyone (CARE), United & Mutually Equal (U&ME), and the Creative Writing Committee.

The Alumni Association grants are funded by income from the Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchased made with the credit card benefits student programs.

 

February, 2008:

asp_students.gif An Alumni Association grant funded the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Pasta Dinner on February 23, 2008. On the left is a photo of ASB volunteers Brittany Decker and Shannon Bailey serving meatballs and sauce. Getting hungry? To view a photo album of this event, which raised more than $1,300, click here. To read biographies of the ASB students and information about the ASB program, click here.
















January, 2008:

Helping Students: Alumni Association Awards
Over $15,000 in Grants to Campus Organizations

alumgrantsfeb08.gifThe College’s Kids In Computing program (KIC), which teaches local middle school students about computers and technology (left), recently got its second boost from the Alumni Association in the last two years with another $2,500 grant, one of 10 grants awarded to eight organizations on campus.

More than $15,000 in Alumni Association grants was awarded to the following organizations and programs: KIC, the Department of Athletics, Alternative Spring Break, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Diversity Task Force, the Society of Women Engineers, Community Action Rewards Everyone (CARE), United & Mutually Equal (U&ME), and the Creative Writing Committee. The grants are funded by income from the Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchased made with the credit card benefits student programs.

This is the second time that an Alumni Association grant has been awarded to KIC, which is run by the College’s Association for Computing and Machinery. “Our computer science and information technology students spark the kids’ interest in computing by helping them build computers,” says program head Ali Rafieymehrhair, chair, Computer Science and Information Technology. “The computers are then sent back to the schools as donations. The Alumni Association has been very supportive and generous to KIC, in which our students also teach the middle school students fundamental software design. What's also great about the program is that it brings our students out of the lab and into the community as role models, and the children gain an appreciation for the sciences.”

The grants program “fits in well with the Association’s mission,” says Mike Coffey G’79, chair of the Alumni Association’s Grants Committee. “Also, a couple of this year’s grant recipients are focused on helping youth in the community, and we are always happy to help these worthy causes.” Indeed, CARE received a $1,000 grant to fund an event at the Gray House, a neighborhood center in Springfield’s North End. “We’re planning a Spring Spectacular, in which provide healthy food and fun activities for children in the Gray House’s after-school program,” says CARE President Sarah Shugrue, a senior communication major. CARE was also awarded a $200 grant for a beautification project at the Freedman Elementary School, which is located several blocks from the College.

A $2,400 grant to the Diversity Task Force will help fund diversity training, including the Conversations on Race discussion circles on Tuesday, February 5 through Tuesday, March 11. A $2,500 grant will assist the Department of Athletics in buying a new Golden Bear mascot costume, as the present one is showing signs of much wear and tear. The Department of Mechanical Engineering will receive a $2,500 grant to defray the costs of attending a national conference.

U&ME will use its $1,275 grant for a Connections Mentoring Program to fund activities that “help make the transition to college smoother for incoming students,” says Yvonne Bogle, director of Diversity Programs and Services. The Creative Writing Committee received a $1,000 grant to help fund its guest authors reading series, the Society for Women Engineers will use its $600 grant for its annual alumnae dinner, and the Alternative Spring Break program received $900 for its annual pasta dinner on February 23.

January, 2007:

Alumni Association Awards Grants to Five Campus Organizations

“I’m ecstatic,” said Bonni Alpert, director of Student Disability Services (SDS), after receiving word that her organization will receive a $2,500 grant from the Alumni Association to fund its peer mentoring program for students with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The Alumni Association recently awarded grants to five student organizations: SDS, Kids Involved With Technology and Science (K.I.T.S.), the finance and accounting honor society Beta Alpha Psi, the One in Four rape awareness group, and the Western New England College Historical Society. The grants are funded by income from the Association’s royalty/affinity programs with Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance and the Western New England College Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card. Every new alumni enrollment in the Liberty Mutual Group Savings Plan and every purchase made with an affinity credit card benefits student programs.

SDS plans to expand services for students with Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism. “When these individuals arrive at college, they tend to isolate themselves by staying in their rooms and failing to initiate contact with their peers,” said Alpert. The success or failure of the students, many of whom are awkward in social situations, often depends on support from college communities. In the College’s peer mentoring program, mentors meet with the students at least once a week, and they also stay in contact via email and telephone. The goal is to not only help students with Asperger’s assimilate on campus, but also to offer internship opportunities to students in the psychology department.

K.I.T.S., which will receive a $2,500 grant, works with children from local schools in fun, hands-on projects to build computers and participate in physics and chemistry experiments. The children connect with students and faculty from both the department of computer science and information technology and the department of physical and biological sciences. “In this win-win situation, children gain an appreciation for the sciences, while our college student volunteers come away with better communication skills, a heightened sense of community awareness, and great personal satisfaction,” said Ali Rafieymehr, chair, Computer Science and Information Technology.

The One in Four rape awareness group will also receive a $2,500 grant. “We plan to form Freshman Focus programs in residence halls,” said treasurer Aaron Kraus. Another goal is to be certified as an official chapter of the national One in Four organization, which requires training from the national group. “Statistics have shown that there is a significant decrease in the occurrence of sexual assault on a college campus when a chapter of One in Four is established there,” he said.

The College’s Historical Society, under its $1,000 grant, visited historic sites in Rhode Island, including Slater’s Mill and the Museum of Work and Culture, on its “Spring Road Trip.” Beta Alpha Psi, whose mission is to encourage scholastic and professional excellence for accounting majors, received a $2,500 grant, which will enable the group to attend its parent organization’s annual national conference.