Village at Ithaca
Park Scholars mentored teenagers and led a number of artistic and activist programs. In the course of their work, Park Scholars discovered important, untold stories that ultimately formed the basis for a groundbreaking documentary film. The planning, production, and presentation of the film became an exercise in education and empowerment for local middle school and high school students, led and mentored by Park Scholars.Work on the film ended up involving nearly half of the Park Scholars and culminated in a premier screening in front of a packed Park Auditorium. The Park Scholars continued by offering the film and accompanying learning module for distribution to local school systems and educators.
Park Scholars Build Partnerships
Park Scholars share their communications talents across a variety of partnerships with local organizations.
Device Advice
Park Scholars coached and assisted residents at Ithaca senior living facilities with their personal technology, including laptops and smart phones. The personal relationships formed between Park Scholars and the residents of these facilities, particularly with residents of McGraw House, inspired a group of first-year Park Scholars to present a series of holiday concerts and sing-a-longs for McGraw House residents and staff.
Art Club
Park Scholars helped students at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School find creative expression through after-school art and craft projects and additional creative activities.
Ithaca Children’s Garden
Park Scholars began by assisting with garden maintenance and cleanup and quickly added the responsibility for helping to facilitate holiday and seasonal events for visitors to the Garden.
Finger Lakes ReUse
Park Scholars began by helping the organization with its donations and physical structures. Over the course of the year, Park Scholars’ involvement expanded as they documented the work of Finger Lakes ReUse and created a series of short films that tell the story of the organization and its mission; these short films are helping to engage prospective donors and volunteers.
Previous community partnerships—an illustrative sample
Community Connections
Park Scholars have worked with Ithaca College's Office of Civic Engagement to compile a comprehensive list of socioeconomic issues challenging the local community and the Tompkins County organizations working to address them. Park Scholars helped to maintain the list in an online database with links to a dozen community initiatives. This database was, in turn, made accessible to students, faculty, staff, and community partners, to inform and inspire involvement in those areas of public interest.
Holocaust Education Project
Park Scholars have partnered with the Ithaca Area United Jewish Community (IAUJC) to assist in the creation of a curriculum for high school students using autobiographical stories told by Holocaust survivors in the Tompkins County area. Park Scholars interviewed these survivors and documented their stories. This footage, as well as clips previously archived by the IAUJC, were compiled into educational video segments to be used by local high schools, in the classroom and online.
MacCormick Literary Project
Park Scholars have visited residents of the MacCormick Secure Center in Brooktondale, NY, to help them tell their stories. Park Scholars give writing lessons and help the residents compile their writing and drawing into a literary magazine. Park Scholars thus help these residents find their voices, as they also help them prepare for life outside the facility.
Megaphone Media Productions
Megaphone Media Productions has been a Park Scholar production house offering pro-bono media support for nonprofit organizations. Megaphone has helped create a variety of video, print, and online media resources. For example, Park Scholars helped to develop a powerful brand identity for the Ithaca College Natural Lands to go along with a digital walking tour Park Scholars created.
Media Club
Media Club has helped to educate elementary, middle and high school students about media. Park Scholars have designed and run media literacy programs and media production workshops. Curricula have included a variety of interactive projects and assignments. Topics have included broadcast journalism, web development, game theory, photography, advertising, film, among other media topics.
WRFI Community Radio
Park Scholars have created in-depth, multimedia features that explore local issues, analyzing the challenges involved and presenting potential solutions. Some of the features that Park Scholars produced have included: The Loneliness Project, a look at loneliness and its impact on mental health in Tompkins County; Feeding Tompkins County, an exploration of food insecurity in Tompkins County; and Bridged, an examination of the housing crisis in Tompkins County.