News
COOP’s seasonal service initiatives in full swing
By Noelle Connors ’19
December 8, 2016
Tags news
As the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, the winter holidays are right around the bend. The Community Opportunity and Outreach Project (COOP), is organizing many holiday community service projects to benefit local families and organizations during the holidays. One project, the Holiday Gift Drive, is being organized by COOP Senior Fellow Kara Pintye-Everett ’17 along with collaboration from HAVOC. Through the Holiday Gift Drive, over 125 gifts, including toy cars, jackets, games, and dolls have been collected so far. The COOP is donating these gifts through various local organizations including the Department of Social Services, Upstate Cerebral Palsy, Johnson Park Center and Hospice & Palliative Care which collected gift requests from individual children and families.
Half of the gifts collected by the Holiday Gift Drive were donated by students participating in the Mitten Tree Drive who signed up for specific gifts before break by choosing a mitten describing the child their gift would go to. Over break, the students purchased these gifts and they are now being collected by the COOP. The other half of the requests were posted on the COOP website where faculty, staff and other community members were able to sign up to donate specific items. Currently, all the gifts are being collected and wrapped in the COOP on the third floor of the chapel before they are sent out to families. As Kara Pintye-Everett describes, “It’s been such a positive experience organizing the Holiday Gift Drive because I’ve gotten to see people from all over campus come together for a good cause. I was really impressed by the overwhelming interest and willingness to help out in our Hamilton Community.”
Additionally, the Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach and Charity (HAVOC) G-Board organized multiple collections for the Rescue Mission of Utica. The volunteering team of HAVOC G-Board set up a collection drive for food and winter clothes over break. According to Hersheena Rajaram ’19, the volunteering chair for the HAVOC G-Board, “HAVOC G-Board’s theme for this semester is homelessness and we chose to work with the Rescue Mission of Utica as it is one of the biggest organizations working to alleviate homelessness in Utica. Rescue Mission is a non profit organization providing services for individuals who are trying to overcome homelessness, abuse, addictions and disabilities.” In total, they collected over two boxes of canned foods and five boxes of winter hats, gloves, and coats. Additionally, the charity team of the HAVOC G-Board has organized multiple fundraising events throughout the semester which will all benefit the Rescue Mission of Utica.
COOP Senior Fellow Poppy Green ’17 organized a community service trip this past Saturday to Emmaus House, a local domestic violence shelter. Members of the Hamilton College Softball Team went on this trip and helped to decorate the house for the holidays. Through the COOP, many Hamilton students and faculty are getting into the holiday spirit by giving back to the local community to help everyone have safe and enjoyable holidays.