Communities exist all over the world. Each community is made up of different types of people, with different types of responsibilities, and different types of goals. Quinnipiac University is a community that is continuing to grow with more students, more professors, and more organizations. The Community Awareness Project (CAP) is one organization that sets out to strengthen both Quinnipiac’s community and the local community.
CAP focuses on three main components: the youth, hunger, and the elderly.
CAP is very active with children. They host many events that encourage youth participation. For instance, on Oct. 27, CAP will be organizing a Halloween party for children that attend St. Francis Elementary School in New Haven. The kids will be bused to Quinnipiac and will have the opportunity to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating to different dorms on campus.
CAP also hosts Youth Days throughout the year. During these days, members of CAP eat lunch and participate in craft activities with children.
“Books on Tape” is an event in which CAP purchases both new and used children’s books. The students then read the stories aloud while recording them onto cassette tapes. Both the tapes and the books are then donated to children’s charities.
Along with working with the youth, CAP is very involved with issues involving hunger. Students visit soup kitchens and pantries where they cook, serve, and aid in the distribution of food.
During Thanksgiving, CAP hosts a turkey drive and in the winter, an apparel drive is held. At this drive, sweaters, gloves, and hats are collected for the homeless who will have to struggle through the cold weather.
The third component, the elderly, is yet another aspect of the local community that CAP is very supportive of. Members of the organization make frequent visits to assisted living facilities. Events involving the senior citizens include: the Sweetheart Dance, where volunteers interact with the elderly, arts and crafts such as pumpkin painting, and Intergenerational Day, during which the elderly and the youth come together.
CAP also facilitates the “Adopt a Grandparent Program,” where one or two students are paired up with a senior from the community. Companionship and physical support are provided.
“CAP gives people an opportunity to get away from campus life. It’s a growing experience and it makes you feel good inside because you are helping others in need,” said Katie Parsons, one of CAP’s co-executive directors.
Other events that CAP participates in include a blood drive that is co-sponsored with Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), and the Habitat for Humanity.
“I feel that CAP is beneficial because it’s at your own discretion. You can do as little or as much as you want,” said Janet Fasano, a co-executive director of CAP.
The organization meets on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in SC 207.
For more information on CAP, contact extension 8352 or send mail to P.O. Box 24.