It's the Neighborly Thing to Do
- By Ann E. Shanahan '59
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- The Seasoned Volunteers
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- When President Ruth Simmons pledged to use the resources of the college
to help combat problems in the local community, she knew that many faculty,
staff and students needed no encouragement, as they were already active
participants in their own towns. Take, for instance, a recent session for
local Internet neophytes that took place at Smith.
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- In mid-January, two dozen residents and schoolteachers from Hatfield,
Massachusetts, took an introductory tour of the World Wide Web with the
guidance of their neighbor and friend Alan Bloomgarden, who is also assistant
director of faculty grants and government relations in the advancement
office at Smith.
- Although the session was one of a series of computer literacy classes
offered by Hatfield's Breor Elementary School Net Day Initiative, it took
place in a computer classroom at Smith. It was, as well, one of the countless
ways that the college and its employees interact with Northampton and surrounding
towns through the contribution of time, expertise and facilities. In Hatfield's
case, town educators teamed up with an energetic group of parents working
toward a statewide Net Day. The project's goal is to promote the use of
the Internet as a learning tool in elementary and secondary school classrooms.
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- Although Bloomgarden, a Hatfield resident, does not have any children
in the schools yet (his daughter is 4), he is interested in contributing
his time and talent to efforts that will make his town's school system
stronger. And, he says, even as a relatively new employee at Smith, he
has become aware that being "a good community citizen" is a part
of the college's mission and one that is encouraged among its employees
as well. So, "using my computer skills for the benefit of my neighbors
seemed like an appropriate thing to do," Bloomgarden says.
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- For those who work at Smith, being a good community citizen runs the
gamut from serving on the boards of the United Way, the League of Women
Voters or the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts to being a Boy Scout
leader, a Little League coach or a volunteer at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
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- Geology professor John Brady is well known to Northampton schoolteachers
and to Cub Scout and Girl Scout groups for his willingness to host geology
demonstrations at Smith's science center and to lead geology field trips
or hikes to the area's dinosaur footprints. "I see it as a civic responsibility
to share the science skills I have in ways that are helpful to the community.
This is the way I can put my time to the most valuable use," he says.
"To have Smith faculty members out in the community is a good sign
of partnership and of helping the community at large."
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- Whether it's the college as an entity or as individuals, the message
represented by the volunteer commitment is the same: good community citizenship
matters at Smith.
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