Students and faculty of Tunxis Community College in Farmington engaged in service to the community Oct. 19-25 during “Connecticut Make a Difference Week.”

Activities at Tunxis during the week included the following:

•  The Human Services Club and program  held an event on campus for young mothers and fathers from New Britain in which they toured Tunxis, learned about Admissions, financial aid and Tunxis Early Childhood Center, and attended a class to experience what it is like to attend college.

• The Community Outreach Club collected donations of travel-sized toiletries which they included in bags they assembled and donated to St. Vincent de Paul Mission Shelter in Bristol.

• The Human Services club donated the proceeds from a bake sale to Kyla’s Kids Fund, to benefit the children of a Tunxis student who was slain over the summer by her husband in a murder-suicide.

• The Alpha Iota Alpha Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa started a book drive in support of early literacy for the “Read to Grow” program.

•  An art class held a food drive which they used to draw still lifes in class before donating 123 pounds of non-perishable food to the Plainville Food Pantry.

Connecticut’s public service week, designated as CT Public Higher Education Make a Difference Week—aims to piggyback on the “National Make a Difference Day” campaign and showcase the commitment of the state’s public higher education institutions to a wide range of service activities. The week-long series of public service activities initiated by Tunxis and the other public colleges and universities around the state highlighted the diverse number of community involvement efforts ongoing throughout the year that promote civic engagement, develop students’ citizenship skills, forge community partnerships and integrate service learning and volunteering.

Tunxis contributes service through a diverse range of programs, student club projects and alternative break trips that engage students annually in service to local, state, national and international communities. The diverse range of projects over the years have included providing dental hygiene services for uninsured Connecticut residents, several Native American reservations, and South American populations without access to dental care; enlisting as mentor-tutors in the Bristol Public Schools, volunteering for Hands on Hartford’s Peter’s Retreat program, in which students donated food, cooked, and served meals for 25 homeless men and women living with HIV/AIDS; and volunteering at Imagine Nation Museum and Urban Oaks Organic Farm.

Located in Farmington, Tunxis offers over 60 associate’s degrees and certificates, providing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare students for transfer to bachelor’s degree programs and employment in areas with industry need.  For more on Tunxis programs, please call 860.773.1300, or visit the Tunxis website at tunxis.edu.