Blog

Building Knowledge for Social Change, Traveling Around Hartford

In 2007, Charlie Fuentes ‘08 founded “Stop the Raids!” as a student organization at Trinity College. The group, which protested federal raids against undocumented immigrants, offers a powerful example of how students’ co-curricular efforts in partnership with Hartford residents can leave a lasting mark. In addition to mobilizing large groups of students to fight for immigrant rights, "Stop the Raids!" collaborated with Hartford organizations that played a role in passing Hartford’s sanctuary city ordinance in 2008. In Fall 2021, current Community Action Gateway students examined the work of "Stop the Raids!" as they learned about the opportunities and challenges of higher education community engagement and social change. Though the “Stop the Raids!” group is no longer active at Trinity, the rights of undocumented immigrants are still a salient issue in the Hartford community and touch members of the Trinity College community today.

One of the most important components of the Community Action Gateway is to help students understand the multiple ways that social change is happening in the city. This semester, the ...

For our Fall 2021 semester, students were enrolled in Community Action 101: Envisioning Social Change. CACT partnered with organizations to create a 1-minute video responding to the partner’s communicated needs. The class worked with an array of Hartford-based organizations, collaborating with Free Center, Night Fall, Health Equity Solutions, and Desiree Primus’ “Mayor Carrie Saxon-Perry” project.

VITA Will Open Soon at Trinfo, Frog Hollow Storytelling

Four teams of students collaborated on projects with community partners in the Liberal Arts Action Lab this fall. The students enrolled in two courses – one on community engaged research methods and one specific to their research project. Each project team used the research method skills they learned to answer a research question posed by four Hartford community partners.

Trinity students in the J-term Dance Performance Studio are preparing for a spring concert led by three choreographers with Hartford roots. The course and concert are distinguished by the mix of students and choreographers collaborating. College dance departments often bring in guest choreographers, but this experience is unique because of the artists’ ties to the local community.

Leone is co-president of the Trinity chapter of Best Buddies, a student organization under the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement. Best Buddies creates opportunities for friendship between neurotypical people and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) clinic at Trinfo will open for the 2022 tax season in early February. Now in its fourth year, the clinic offers free tax preparation services to the community.

In the Fall of 2021, I chose to apply to the Liberal Arts Action Lab. This project has made me feel more connected to the community. Through the power of storytelling, I feel like a neighbor now.