The Community Service Club Receives $500 Grant for Intergenerational Programming

Community Service Club, an organization with over 75 members, has been selected to receive a $500 grant from the DOROT Foundation, which provides resources to the community for the creation of quality programs dealing with elderly populations. The Community Service Club’s President, Hugh Alvarado, applied for the Level I Grant, also known as the College Initiative Grants for Intergenerational Program. With encouragement and support from the Stony Brook VISTA Program in the Career Center, the Community Service Club was able to apply for the grant in November 2009 and receive official award notification on December 10.

The grant money will be used to fund “A Catwalk Through History,” a perspective project to be done in collaboration with Sunrise Senior Living in Smithtown, NY. The program will highlight changes in fashion and current events from the 1940’s to the present, paying special attention to notable events that occurred in an elderly individual’s lifetime, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Jr. In his proposal, Alvarado writes, “Throughout the show, we will try to demonstrate that the clothing worn today is no different from the styles that were prevalent three [or more] decades ago. Similarly, movies and television shows that are seen today are very much influenced by events from the past… the elderly residents of Sunrise Senior Living will feel a sense of pride because their accomplishments are very much the building blocks of today’s culture.”

The grant will be available for the Community Service Club to use in the spring 2010 semester. At the conclusion of the project, they will document any outcomes and notable highlights and submit the results to the DOROT Foundation. Grant money will be used to fund programming materials, music, and transportation for Stony Brook students to visit Sunrise Senior Living.