All News

Since it started in 2011, the Community Outreach and Opportunity Project, or COOP, has been buzzing with activity. It’s a win-win relationship. Hamilton students want to help their neighbors and effect positive change; and their neighbors, in the greater Mohawk Valley, provide numerous opportunities for activities like tutoring, working in soup kitchens or building houses, to name a few. In fact, the number of interactions with local organizations has grown annually, requiring the COOP to increase the number of it senior fellows.

Thirty-five Hamilton students are teaching Spanish to third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Clinton Elementary. They volunteer in groups and work closely with the Clinton students to help them improve their language skills and gain an appreciation for foreign languages. Hispanic Studies Teaching Fellow Maria Gabriela Portal and Elisabeth MacColl ’16 run the program, which will continue throughout the semester.

Many college students plan on spending their spring break soaking up the sun on a beach; however, 11 Hamilton students, accompanied by a faculty advisor, plan on volunteering on an organic coffee farm in Nicaragua. The trip is part of Hamilton’s Alternative Spring Break program, a student-run volunteer organization. The coffee farms they will visit—Finca Esperanza Verde or Green Hope Farm—play a large role in the community and economy of San Ramon, Nicaragua.

The Hamilton College men’s ice hockey team will host its first Wounded Warrior Project game on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m., when the Continentals host Tufts University at Russell Sage Rink.

Hamilton College men's basketball player Peter Kazickas '15 (Amagansett, N.Y./St. Mark's School [Mass.]) has been selected to the 2014 Allstate National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team®.

Hamilton’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) collected more than 100 pieces of gently used and new sports equipment for donation to the House of Good Shepherd.  SAAC’s Samantha Sherman ’15 (field hockey) and Katie Steates ’15 (women's golf) along with Associate Director of Athletics Kerri Fagan dropped off two car loads of equipment on Dec. 12. The items included baseball/softball bats and gloves, soccer balls, basketballs, kickballs, tennis rackets and more.

As the first semester of their two-year tenures wind down, eight COOP Service Interns can look back in pride. They look forward with even greater excitement.

The 12th annual Fall Fest took place on the Clinton Village Green on Oct. 27.   The Hamilton community and Clinton residents enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment, activities and food.

The Greek Philanthropy Union, Physical Plant, and the greater Hamilton community surpassed their fundraising goal and raised enough funds to purchase 130 Easter hams and donate $325 for more groceries for the Country Pantry in Clark’s Mills.

Look at campus e-mail on any given day during Hamilton’s academic year and chances are there’s a service opportunity seeking volunteers. The people behind these numerous events are the Community Outreach and Opportunities Program (COOP) Senior Fellows – Danielle Lashley, Ramya Ramnath and Amy Soenksen. They coordinate volunteer requests with local non-profits, plan events and organize volunteers.