Volunteer study program set to expire

Thanks to a grant from the United States Department of Education, some Buffalo State students have spent the last two semesters working with various community organizations through a unique work-study program offered through the Volunteer and Service Learning Center.

The Community Service Work-Study Peer Leader Program began in January, and is set to end this month, said Laura Rao, coordinator at the Volunteer and Service Learning Center. Although funding from the Department of Education is about to run out, alternatives are being considered to continue the program.

"We can't apply for another grant through the Department of Education," she said. "It's a one-year grant. However, we've been trying to identify ways that we can continue the model in the future."

Some of the ways the college is looking at doing this is through coordination with the Financial Aid Office, and applying for a grant through Americorps, Rao said.

"We're hoping that we can continue most of the positions," she said.

The Buffalo City Mission, the American Red Cross Blood Services and Jericho Road Ministries are some of the organizations student workers have been involved with. 

Students hired to work with the organizations went through a rigorous interviewing process, Rao said, in order to ensure their commitment to the program.

"We wanted people who had volunteer experience, because they in turn would be supporting and recruiting volunteers," she said. "We interviewed all of the applicants and matched them up with who we thought they would be a good fit for. Then the organizations interviewed them, and made the final decisions on who they wanted to hire."

Feedback on the program from the various organizations has been "fantastic," Rao said.

"All of the organizations are thrilled with the opportunity," she said. "They have been able to do programs and activities that otherwise would have gone incomplete."

One of the students involved in the program, Veronica Toeper, has been working with Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo since the program began. She runs the group's social media websites, as well as helps distribute resources to the different community gardens in the city.

"Working with Grassroots has been great," she said. "I absolutely love working with the (people there)."

Through the program, Toeper has been able to get other students involved with the community.

"I was able to bring volunteers to community gardens both volunteer days in 2011," Toeper said.

For their part, Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo has been happy to have this partnership with Buffalo State, said Susannah Barton, executive director of Grassroots Gardens.

"(The) work study in the community program has tremendously impacted Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo over the past two semesters," she said. "Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo was very fortunate to be a part of the Volunteer and Service Learning Center's work-study in the community program. We greatly appreciate the continued support we received from the Buffalo State College community."

Michael Canfield can be reached by email at canfield.record@live.com.