GENERAL COLIN POWELL ANNOUNCES TRINITY IS
SECOND "COLLEGE OF PROMISE" IN THE NATION
Designation Recognizes Trinity's Unique Commitment to Hartford Community
HARTFORD, Conn., June 11, 1998 -- At a ceremony to dedicate the first Boys & Girls Club in America to be located on a college campus, General Colin Powell announced that Trinity College has become the first college or university on the east coast, and only the second in the country, to be designated a "College of Promise." Powell, who is a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Board of Governors, was at Trinity to participate in the new Club's dedication.
Trinity now has joined the America's Promise initiative launched in April 1997 by General Powell at the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, held in Philadelphia. Powell is chairman of America's Promise -- The Alliance for Youth, whose multiyear campaign strives to connect two million young people with fundamental resources by the year 2000 to help them maximize their potential and become future leaders.
"America's Promise is committed to giving young people a reason to dream and to believe in themselves," said General Powell. "As an organization we will not be able to fulfill our promise to America's kids without the participation of individuals and institutions who share our belief that becoming actively engaged in the life of a child is the best way at a local level to improve the wellbeing of a youngster. Trinity College's commitment to improving the quality of life in Hartford and to helping the city's young people dream and believe that they too might someday attend college and live the American dream is exemplary. I am very pleased that Trinity has responded to the challenge and will now be an active partner in support of America's Promise."
"To build -- and sustain -- a community of learning in cities across the nation, we must build a community whose environment inspires children from their earliest days to hope, to learn, and to care; a community that encourages home ownership; one that nourishes entrepreneurial spirit and the work ethic and that offers parents the tools and support so necessary to the vital act of childrearing; and a community that respects education as the tool for personal advancement," said Trinity College President Evan S. Dobelle.
Trinity is spearheading a $175-million neighborhood revitalization initiative in a broad public private-grassroots partnership. Its centerpiece is reclaimed parcel of previously contaminated land on which three new schools will be built -- a Montessori public elementary school; a public middle school; and a math, science and technology high school resource center joined with a performing arts academy. Just across the street a new building already has been constructed, the first-ever campus-based Boys & Girls Club in America. It will be staffed by Trinity students -- students who, according to Dobelle, "will provide mentoring and tutoring to neighborhood youth and who will in the process learn precious lessons about the realities of life in contemporary America."
A College of Promise is a unique commitment category as part of the America's Promise initiative. In their programs and outreach, Colleges of Promise will aid in ensuring that young people in their communities have access to the following five fundamental resources: an ongoing relationship with a caring adult (mentor, tutor, coach, teacher); safe places and structured activities during nonschool hours to learn and grow; a healthy start and healthy future; a marketable skill through effective education; and an opportunity to give back through community service. The first college or university to join the America's Promise initiative was the University of Southern California.
A University or College of Promise is a partnership between the institution's faculty, staff and students with local schools, parents, corporations, foundations, communities of faith, and government agencies. The College of Promise develops and implements a coordinated and comprehensive initiative that allows young people to access the College's physical and human resources.
RSS