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On January 20, the Central Center for Community Engagement & Social Research (CCESR) joined forces with the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) and Academic Affairs to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The annual MLK Breakfast was hosted followed by an interactive symposium on creating an inclusive campus, featuring Dr. Ken Coopwood Sr., owner/CEO of Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.
After the symposium, CCESR hosted a campus-wide Day of Service. In partnership with local community organizations including the United Way, the New Britain YWCA, Girls Inc, Smalley Elementary School, and the Friendship Center, participants were given the opportunity to participate in one of the service-oriented activities offered on or off campus.
With the United Way, Central's volunteers completed 57 literacy kits for New Britain students. Another group of volunteers crafted 100 feminine hygiene kits, 20 of which went to Girls Inc in Meriden with the other 80 going to the YWCA of New Britain House of Teens. Some volunteers went to the Friendship Center in New Britain and worked alongside neighborhood residents to clean and reorganize a storage area. The last group of volunteers went to six classrooms at Smalley Elementary School to read and do activities with students.