Get to know your neighbors - Vassar College

Funded by donations from employees and students, Community Works is a philanthropic campaign whose mission is to provide financial assistance to local not-for-profit organizations.

Comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators, the CCAC was created to asses Vassar’s community relationships. From the work of the committee has come increased support for Vassar volunteers off-campus, the establishment of a downtown shuttle system and improved experiences for visitors on campus.

A campus initiative in engaged philanthropy, the Good Neighbors Partnerships provides small grants to local organizations for projects in education, food security and community resource development. On-going partnerships include Boys’ Night Out and Girls’ Night Out at Poughkeepsie Middle School with Vassar sports teams, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and the Girls on the Run Program.

The CCS was created to monitor and make suggestions on reducing the amount of natural resources the College consumes. They have launched conservation campaigns to pay for short-term supplies of wind energy, implemented metering devices in the dorms to measure energy use, encouraged student conservation efforts and consumption of local foods.

At the end of every academic year, SWAPR takes donated items and offers them to local not-for-profit organizations and human service agencies. SWAPR volunteers include faculty, students, staff and administrators, collectively working toward the goal of reducing waste and sharing resources with the community.

The Natural Sciences Departments at Vassar collaborates with Poughkeepsie High School on an annual program to bring 18 high school science students to campus for eight workshops with Vassar faculty. The students also gain access to the Vassar libraries, and a workshops on college admission and financial aid.

In collaboration with the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office and the Rape Crisis Center (a division of Family Services of Dutchess County, Vassar’s Health Education Office offers SAVP to prevent sexual assault, domestic violence and relationship abuse, and stalking crimes on campus, and to enhance services for victims.

Administered by Vassar’s Department of Security, R.A.D. classes are offered to the entire community, to teach women how to effectively avoid high-risk situations and defend themselves when situations arise. Classes are limited in size, but are offered to both on- and off-campus community members.

Started in 2001 by Andrew Meade and his wife Lila to provide lunch for 150 schoolchildren and to support teachers’ salaries in the village of Chermaitre, Haiti, the project has now grown to engage 100 Vassar students, alumnae/i, administrators and community volunteers annually. The Project aims to raise money to benefit the village’s education system, as well as educate our community about Haiti’s history, culture and socio-economic development.

The “Digital Tour of Poughkeepsie” is a video documentary of the history of Poughkepsie. The Good Neighbors Committee partnered with Leonard Nevarez, Associate Professor of Sociology, to create the student-produced video which follows Harvey Flad, Professor Emeritus of Geograhpy, on a tour of 15 Poughkeepsie neighborhoods. DVD copies of the “Digital Tour” have been distributed to local area libraries and schools to be used as an educational tool.

Get a stipend of $320 per week to explore a career in a local non-profit agency for ten-weeks of the summer. The Community Fellows program is run through the Field Work Office and includes several lunch seminars throughout the summer where students share their experiences at one of eighteen different organizations.