Bergen Community College Students Mentor at Boys & Girls Club of Lodi/Hackensack
By Mel Fabrikant Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 06:09 PM EDT
Bergen Community College has joined forced with the Boys & Girls Club of Lodi/Hackensack to provide local children with opportunities for mentorship and guidance.
Paul Ragusa, director of Bergen Community College’s Hackensack location, the Ciarco Center, 355 Main Street, who also serves on the Boys & Girls Club’s Board of Directors, proposed using Bergen sociology and criminology students as club volunteers and mentors. Seventeen Bergen sociology students mentor 72 Hackensack children who attend the club’s Maple Avenue location.
“This is a great opportunity for Bergen students to give back to the community and participate in a worthwhile cause,” Ragusa said. “Our Bergen students are such positive role models and their presence is helping to engage club youth in constructive and enjoyable after school activities. I am so impressed with – and proud of – the students involved. It’s a winning collaboration all around.”
The partnership represents another example of the College’s dedication to service learning, an important objective of Bergen administrators. The school’s students completed more than 4,400 hours of service learning in 2009.
The project, which began March 1, brings Bergen student volunteers to the club for approximately 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Along with mentoring the Hackensack children, the Bergen students provide homework help, participate in recreational games and discuss constructive social activities, especially those that shun drugs, alcohol and gang involvement. Ragusa and Bergen sociology professor Shari Horowitz-Engel, who also serves as director of the College’s Institute for Suburban Studies, provide supervision to the mentors in regular group meetings.
“The Boys & Girls Club of Lodi/Hackensack’s partnership with Bergen Community College is important for the development of our youth,” Shane Sudol, an administrator at the club, said. “Our youth have the opportunity to be mentored by outstanding Bergen students and it allows them to have a positive support system in their lives.”
The club has utilized a $93,000 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the federal government and the State of New Jersey to expand its operations and begin new programs.
“The Boys & Girls Club has a tradition of keeping its members engaged in positive, growth-oriented activities, rewarding relationships with peers and adults from the community,” Ragusa said. “It’s a recipe for resilient and successful youth. I am thrilled that we are able to partner and provide this service to the community and for our students seeking to ‘give back.’ ”
The program will run through June 30. An extension of the federal and state grant could extend it for another year.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.
Paul Ragusa, director of Bergen Community College’s Hackensack location, the Ciarco Center, 355 Main Street, who also serves on the Boys & Girls Club’s Board of Directors, proposed using Bergen sociology and criminology students as club volunteers and mentors. Seventeen Bergen sociology students mentor 72 Hackensack children who attend the club’s Maple Avenue location.
“This is a great opportunity for Bergen students to give back to the community and participate in a worthwhile cause,” Ragusa said. “Our Bergen students are such positive role models and their presence is helping to engage club youth in constructive and enjoyable after school activities. I am so impressed with – and proud of – the students involved. It’s a winning collaboration all around.”
The partnership represents another example of the College’s dedication to service learning, an important objective of Bergen administrators. The school’s students completed more than 4,400 hours of service learning in 2009.
The project, which began March 1, brings Bergen student volunteers to the club for approximately 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Along with mentoring the Hackensack children, the Bergen students provide homework help, participate in recreational games and discuss constructive social activities, especially those that shun drugs, alcohol and gang involvement. Ragusa and Bergen sociology professor Shari Horowitz-Engel, who also serves as director of the College’s Institute for Suburban Studies, provide supervision to the mentors in regular group meetings.
“The Boys & Girls Club of Lodi/Hackensack’s partnership with Bergen Community College is important for the development of our youth,” Shane Sudol, an administrator at the club, said. “Our youth have the opportunity to be mentored by outstanding Bergen students and it allows them to have a positive support system in their lives.”
The club has utilized a $93,000 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the federal government and the State of New Jersey to expand its operations and begin new programs.
“The Boys & Girls Club has a tradition of keeping its members engaged in positive, growth-oriented activities, rewarding relationships with peers and adults from the community,” Ragusa said. “It’s a recipe for resilient and successful youth. I am thrilled that we are able to partner and provide this service to the community and for our students seeking to ‘give back.’ ”
The program will run through June 30. An extension of the federal and state grant could extend it for another year.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.
