JCC Program Assisted

Greatly By City, Partners

To The Reader’s Forum:

Jamestown Community College’s Liberty Partnerships Program recently completed a month-long summer work experience for 16 students from Dunkirk, Jamestown, and Salamanca high schools. As the LPP team began creating curriculum for the camp, one focus that emerged was our desire to have the students experience a community connection.

Our first call was to Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, as he had been a speaker at one of our leadership events. His response was immediate and he gathered together various community stakeholders for a meeting with our team. They offered support, suggestions, and provided an incredible foundation on which to build our work experience.

From that meeting, an amazing collaboration materialized and the students had the pleasure of working with local artist, Gary Peters, to create a downtown mural. They also painted and cleaned up local sculptures, and worked at the Fenton History Center’s excavation site.

Most importantly, the students discovered that they really enjoyed supporting community efforts and left the experience with a greater appreciation for our community, along with a willingness for future service.

The LPP team would like to extend our appreciation to Mayor Sundquist, the City Parks Department, Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, and the Fenton History Center. We are incredibly blessed to have leaders who define community in such a tangible manner and inspire our youth to make giving back a priority in their own lives.

Laurie Whitermore

Jamestown