Map of our 2011 Sites
View TCNJ Bonner Community Partners 2010 in a larger map
The following community organizations host a team of Bonner Community Scholars. Their staff collaborate with the Bonners to develop and execute site plans that address their needs and interests. In addition to the partners listed below, the Center works with approximately 10 additional agencies on a regular basis on class-based projects or stand alone Community Engaged Learning Days. For information on special projects and initiatives that Bonner Scholars work on with community partners, please visit the Special Initiatives pages.
ISLES YOUTHBUILD
Isles Youthbuild provides an alternative education and youth development experience to 18-25 year old residents, most of whom were previously out of school. Located near the Battle Monument and the Henry J. Austin Health Clinic, Youthbuild offers high school classes, GED classes, life-skills sessions, personal counseling, construction skills training and much more.
CITIES OF SERVICE
How can we mobilize a new cadre of citizen volunteers from Trenton and help them address some of the city’s most pressing problems or concerns? The Bonner Center has been asked by the New Jersey VISTA office to bring together local stakeholders to develop a blueprint and help advance this national effort. Started by Mayor Bloomberg in New York, this project will build upon the existing higher education service system locally, by providing volunteers when the College is not in session.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM
To ensure that all students and faculty can find a bridge into the community, Bonner is creating a new Community Development Team and a Health Team (see below). With assistance from Brian Reilly (MLUC at TCNJ), this team supports the goals of the Shiloh CDC. Among other things, it strives to mobilize upper level (CEL II) business and engineering courses to redevelop a significant portion of the city, which includes some of the most historically significant African-American buildings in Trenton.
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES TEAM
Visitation Home (Hamilton, NJ)
Bonner Scholars assist the residents of this home complete their daily chores and responsibilities. They also provide life-skills lessons, lead education and art projects, and occasionally complete beautification projects.
Website: http://www.visitationhome.org/
EDUCATION (K-8) TEAMS
Youth Development – Hedgepeth/Williams School (Trenton, NJ)
During this academic year, Bonner Scholars are running the Youth Development Institute. The program includes the participation of TCNJ students and professors. Bonner Scholars also develop life-skills workshops that are taught through sports, such as Hoops Skills and Track Academics. And finally, Bonner Scholars host 6th grade students monthly at the College in reading and writing enrichment projects.
Website: http://www.trenton.k12.nj.us/hedgepeth/
Academic Sports Academy and Hedgepeth/Williams School (Trenton, NJ)
Bonner Scholars at this site help staff the after-school program—teaching classes, helping students complete their homework, organizing community service projects, creating art programs–and more.
Website: http://www.ggrant94ftinc.com/ACAD.htm
EDUCATION (HS) TEAM
Trenton Central High School (Trenton, NJ)
A team of Bonner Scholars are placed on TCHS and engage in tutoring and mentoring activities. In addition, they mobilize other volunteers and TCNJ professors to help TCHS students succeed in their academic and personal lives.
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/tchswebtest/
ENVIRONMENT TEAM
Sustainable Jersey – PC3
The Bonner Environmental Team has forged a new partnership with the statewide Sustainable Jersey Program as well as our President’s Climate Commitment Committee. The goal is to create a greener world in our towns and on our campus. The team will mobilize other students and together work on range of projects, including forestry inventories, dorm conservation contests, energy audits, community gardens; they will also teach urban youth environmental lessons.
TCNJ – Demonstration Garden
Constructed by Bonners and volunteers in April 2010, the team maintains this community garden–weeding, watering and planting fresh fruits and vegetables. This garden provides food for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen–and a space to build community and educate urban youth.
Website: http://bonner.pages.tcnj.edu/special-projects/community-garden/
HEALTH TEAM
Bonner Scholars in the nursing program and others interested in public health now have the chance to work at the Henry J. Austin Health Clinic. Located near the Battle Monument and the Isles Youthbuild site, students and staff address a variety of needs. The clinic, for example, wants to organize opportunities for patients with specific health problems (e.g. diabetes) and create opportunities for them to participate in an ongoing education and prevention program. Students also work for the Trenton Asthma Project. The mission of Isles is to foster self-reliant families in healthy, sustainable communities.
HOMELESSNESS TEAM
Rescue Mission (Trenton, NJ)
In an effort to build the capacity of the Mission and its customer base, Bonners are developing and implementing components of a Marketing Plan, which includes a google ad-word campaign and a patron survey for patrons. They are also conducting research to identify new grant opportunities.
Website: http://www.rescuemissionoftrenton.org/index.php
The Wall (Ewing, NJ)
Entering its second year, the Wall is a newspaper that is produced for and with the homeless. This is a major collaborative effort that involves journalism professors, journalism students, volunteers and a few community partners (including the Mercer Alliance, TASK, and the Rescue Mission). Bonner Scholars fill the top management positions and Alliance staff members are the publishers, helping with the weekly supervisory tasks as well.
HOUSING TEAM
Habitat for Humanity (Trenton, NJ)
Besides providing assistance towards the building of homes in the area, Bonner Scholars are also working on marketing and outreach projects for Habitat for Humanity. They also lead resource development activities.
Website: http://www.habitatnj.org
HUNGER TEAM
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (Trenton, NJ)
Bonner Scholars regularly serve on the food line, as well as tutor GED students. They are also help register patrons into the food stamp program, staff the pantry, and organize various drives as well as enrichment programs.
Website: http://www.trentonsoupkitchen.org
Mercer Street Friends Food Bank (Mercer County, NJ)
The essential goal of Bonner Scholars for this organization is to organize and distribute food orders to emergency food providers who visit the Food Bank. These providers are led by elderly volunteers who are physically unable to move the boxes of donated items. The shift is led by one Bonner and a team of B Vols.
Website: http://mercerstreetfriends.org/index.shtml
IMMIGRATION TEAM
El Centro de Recursos Para Familias (Trenton, NJ)
Bonner Scholars teach three levels of basic language/pre-ESL classes twice a week to families in an effort for them to achieve self-sufficiency and confidence in their language skills.
Website: https://cctrenton.powweb.com/fdca/index6.html
JUVENILE JUSTICE TEAM
Wagner Youth Correctional Facility (Burlington County, NJ)
Bonner Scholars are further developing the writing skills of a class of inmates by working with inmates to create their own literary magazine. The magazine primarily includes essays, poems, journal entries, letters and art.
Website: http://www.state.nj.us/corrections/cia/wycf.html
PEI Kids (Mercer County, NJ)
Bonner Scholars work alongside PEI staff and help deliver a life-skills curriculum to juvenile offenders. They also develop and organize additional enrichment and educational projects.
Website: http://www.peikids.org/
Trenton Prevention Policy Board (Trenton, NJ)
The Bonner Center staff and students are guiding a large contingent of local stakeholders (non-profit employees, public workers, school district leaders and youth participants) through a participatory process that will produce an annual set of policy recommendations on how to reduce juvenile crime. The Board is organized into five working groups: education, unemployment, domestic violence, juvenile crime, and health.
Center for Prisoner Outreach and Education (CPOE) (Burlington County, NJ)
Bonner Center staff and students are co-directing and managing CPOE, in partnership with Professor Celia Chazelle and her colleagues in the History Department. CPOE recruits, trains, places and supports volunteers to serve at the Albert C. Wagner Correctional Facility in Bordentown (where a Bonner Team has annually delivered the prisoner magazine project) and this year also organize the Socrates Cafe program with two TCNJ First Year Seminar Project courses.
NICARAGUA-CEL
The Bonner Scholars will now become a resource to the College on an international level and help start the first CEL program outside of the country. The summer 2012 plan is expected to last three weeks, providing an opportunity for Scholars to not only receive college credit, but also lead a team of other TCNJ students during their two-week service in the second poorest country in the hemisphere. In short, the Bonner Center is now replicating its partnership model in Nicaragua.
SUMMER BONNER FELLOWS
High school students can now participate in their own Bonner experience over the summer. Over a two week period, these students take a college course on social problems in the morning and then work alongside two Bonner captains at one of four summer partner sites. Enrichment films, reflection sessions and social trips wrap around these two core components. In July 2011, 28 students successfully completed the first program. Approximately 50 will participate in 2012.
Website: http://bonnersummer.pages.tcnj.edu/
