UCCPS to work with alumni in building playground

In an ambitious attempt at outreach to both Tufts alumni and to the Somerville community, alumni will work with the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) and various local community organizations to build a playground for children in the Somerville area.

The event, to take place alongside the Alumni Week on May 17, is part of a larger UCCPS initiative to maintain communication with Tufts' alumni and to ensure their continued and widespread involvement in service projects.

Since its creation in 2001, UCCPS has said that one of its goals is to engage alumni. "We feel that the alumni, especially those involved in the public and non-profit sector, are the key to success for students by acting as mentors and helping them find jobs," explained Deborah Jospin, one of the leaders of UCCPS' alumni National Advisory Committee.

The Alumni Week Playground Build was planned as a means of getting alumni excited for future involvement with Tufts. UCCPS, working with Career Services, will hold an alumni symposium to focus on different aspects of citizenship, in an effort to promote jobs in public service and nonprofits.

Although UCCPS is not funding the playground's construction, Vanessa Kirsch, the other leader of the alumni National Advisory Committee, said the college is playing an important role because of its contacts within alumni and the community.

Residents of the Somerville Clarendon Hill Housing Development, which would likely use the playground, are joining UCCPS to build the playground down the street from the Tufts campus.

"Somerville is a very densely developed city that never has enough open green space or areas for kids to play safely," said Barbara Rubel, Tufts' director of community relations.

According to organizers, there is currently only one other playground in the area, which is run down and in a high-crime neighborhood. Backers hope the new playground will provide a safer alternative for the approximately 200 children living in the development.

UCCPS also hopes that this project will help mobilize Clarendon Hill residents to become more involved in the community in the future.

Despite the initial success in planning the project, UCCPS does not plan to continually organize similar projects. UCCPS Alumni Engagement Coordinator Greg Propper said that although such projects are useful and beneficial, Tufts graduates are already organizing many other service initiatives.

"However, it is our hope that [the playground] will serve as a template for other alumni organizations to plan their own service events," Propper said.

The Playground Build was mainly alumni-driven, Kirsch said, and this is a first step in trying to get alumni more involved in the community. "While this is a one-day activity, it is not a one-day commitment," Kirsch said. "We hope to engage alumni in service activities in future reunion weekends and keep them engaged."

Other groups that are involved in the project include KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that helps communities build safe and accessible playgrounds, the Haitian Coalition of Somerville, Groundwork Somerville, an environmental organization, and the Nia Project, an all-African American organization founded by Tufts students which focuses on working with youth through mentoring education and community advocacy.

The Tufts Alumni Association has also been interested in this project to attract alumni that would not usually attend Alumni Weekend.

A minimum of 120 volunteers are needed for the actual building of the playground, but UCCPS' goal is to have over 150 Tufts alumni present on the day.

UCCPS is also working closely with alumni organizations that might have particular interest in this type of project, such as graduates who were affiliated with the Leonard Carmichael Society, Elliot Pearson School, or the School of Engineering.

Relationships are already being built between the alumni and the community, according to Propper. "Each one of them is an active member of the community and is now connecting with UCCPS and members of Clarendon Hill," Propper said. Some co-chairs already work for local organizations and businesses such as the Jewish Vocational Service, the American Anti-Slavery Group, and the Bentley Service Learning Center.