Hi all,
We hope your fall 2 quarter is off to a great start!
We at SOM Serves are energized by a growing team, including Skylar Lewandowski '21 and Allie Sweeney '22, who now serve as members of our committee!
We're eager to share a few updates and one request:
A. Join us this Saturday 11/14 to volunteer with Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven out at Ivy Street Garden! See below for more details.
B. There are a number of exciting, remote volunteer opportunities to get involved with this winter. More info below.
C. Finally, we're eager to hear from you about what you've been up to this year. Read on for additional information.
A. SOM SERVES EVENT ON SATURDAY
SOM Serves: Garden Day with NHS of New Haven | This coming Saturday 11/14 @ 9:45 AM
Join SOM Serves to volunteer with Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven on Saturday, November 14th. We plan to gather a group of eight (8) to do some gardening, composting, and light construction at Ivy Street Garden! We will plan to meet at Ivy Street Garden at 132 Ivy Street. If you'd like to walk over, there will be at least a couple of us walking from Evans Hall in the morning. No tools necessary. Wear closed-toe shoes and clothes you don't mind getting a bit dirty, and remember to bring your mask and water bottle! Register on CampusGroups!
B. ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED
Advise the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) on Microsoft Teams best practices!
As CMHC works to adopt the Microsoft Teams platform, they would like some advice from students who are familiar with it, or who could become familiar with it quickly. If you are interested, please contact Kyle Pedersen at Kyle.Pedersen@yale.edu and let us (Charlie and Amanda) know so we can determine how many more students to recruit for this.
(For female-identifying students) Be a mentor for a young woman through Phenomenal I Am, Inc.!
Phenomenal I Am, Inc. works to address the emotional, social and overall student engagement needs of female adolescents of the City of New Haven through empowerment enrichment workshops and matching of an adult female mentor.
Mentor, group facilitator, and mentor coordinator positions are now open. Apply here. Once they receive your application, you will be contacted to complete a background check. Please let us (Charlie and Amanda) know if you apply!
Identify corporate sponsors for DreamKit!
DreamKit is a web-based app that catalogues and amplifies the resilience of young adults experiencing homelessness in New Haven.
DreamKit offers gift cards to their youth to incentivize skill-building completion on the app and they are looking to partner with local food businesses, grocery markets, and retail stores to help offset the costs of these gift cards. If you are interested in this project (relevant experience not necessary), let Amanda know and she'll connect you with the Executive Director.
Please consult our SOM Serves: Ongoing Service Opportunities (Fall 2020) Google Sheet for a comprehensive listing of known opportunities.
C. SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXISTING VOLUNTEER EFFORTS
We know that many of you are incredibly active with your own service initiatives. In an effort to gauge what types of volunteering SOM students are interested in, we invite you to share about what you're up to, and indicate whether additional MBA volunteers would be useful to your particular organization(s), using this editable Google Sheet. The second-year students among us may remember a similar effort made last year in the wake of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As always, let us know if you have any questions, ideas or feedback!
On behalf of the SOM Serves Committee,
Amanda and Charlie
SG Community Service Co-Chairs