CCAR & The Pleasantville Cottage School

The Center for Community Action and Research is an organization on campus  that is  dedicated to providing opportunities to the Pace community, in which they can explore the issues around us and find out what they can do to help. They encourage students to take action, hold common hour discussions, register students to vote and help organize community service events throughout the Westchester area.  Every semester CCAR at Pace volunteers at the Pleasantville Cottage School. The Pleasantville Cottage school is a cottage style residential treatment center on the JCCA Westchester campus. It is home to emotionally troubled youth ages 7 -16 . Some events CCAR  events with the Pleasantville Cottage School include; holiday decorating around Thanksgiving, Easter egg hunting, and a day of reading and games. Kirk Pineda, is a member of CCAR and told me about his experience volunteering at the Pleasantville Cottage School. “The kids really enjoy when we go over there because its a change from their normal schedules, and they are all always very eager to join us in the activities.”

Not only do the Pace students go over to the Pleasantville Cottage School , the students at the cottage sometimes get to come over to Pace. Jandery Cruz, another member of CCAR told me ” I think the kids are so much more excited when they get to come over here because its a field trip for them and they have the opportunity to explore and see where their potential can take them.” She also told me how very successful the Halloween Party and Easter Egg hunt were when the two events were hosted at Pace.

CCAR is making difference in the lives of the youth at the Pleasantville Cottage School and this is an example of the many ways Pace is connected to the Village of Pleasantville .

 

7-Eleven Thinks Pace is Heaven(ly)

Pace University is well-known for its career opportunities after graduation. Little do people know, it also is very useful in side-job opportunities during undergraduate studying. Senior Jordan White, like many students on campus, works to earn some pocket money to use during her time in school. Because she lives on campus, she was able to easily get a job in 7-Eleven on Bedford Road.

Though it may seem like a dull job, Jordan finds the proximity useful, her coworkers friendly, and her boss to be likeable. She feels the 7-Eleven is very Pace friendly; it’s 24/7 and has a 364-day-open schedule which allows Pace students to be able to use it whenever they want and as frequently as possible. Because it’s a franchise, its hiring process is simpler than a company owned 7-Eleven; they actually look to hire Pace students because the four that currently work there are helpful and trusted employees. Along with all of this, the owner tends to look out for his Pace students by treating them with hospitality since they are regular customers.

“I think that the partnership 7-Eleven and Pace has created is very valuable. My boss normally could spot Pace students and watches out for them, in a way. For example, he hires many students because of their availability and he could even drive them to work, as he does for me sometimes,” Jordan said.

Ultimately, the connection Pace students have with Pleasantville businesses may not be stone-written, but it is evidently present. Jordan feels that many businesses like having Pace students around because they are loyal customers or make up a lot of their employee staff, at least 7-Eleven does.

Want to apply to 7-Eleven? Apply now!

Pace Football Gives Back

The Pace University football team and athletic department gives back to the Westchester community every year through multiple community service opportunities. We sat down with sophomore football player Marcus Louis to talk about how the football team has given back this year.

Yeah we went a middle school in sleepy hollow and a elementary school in Westchester, which was cool. We also went to a hospital to see sick patients and helped with the red cross event on campus,” Louis said.

The football team helped participate in jump rope for heart at the middle school in sleepy hollow and read Doctor Sues books to elementary students on Doctor Sues’s birthday last year.

“It was cool to give back to the comminuty and I love working with kids and being with them,” Louis said.

The team has multiple opportunities every month to participate in community service and can stay as involved as they wish. Pace athletic departments try to give back and stay involved with the community as much as possible throughout the year.

 

 

Kicking Away Cancer

, a

Pace Athletics affiliates itself with many community service projects around Pleasantville and the Westchester community. One of their major projects though, is having a little girl’s dream of playing college soccer come true.

Juliana Vano was diagnosed with lymphona cancer when she was only nine years old. One of her dreams, besides to conquer cancer, was to be part of a soccer team at a University; Pace helped her with her dream. In August of 2015, “Jules” signed her Letter of Intent, with Pace’s women’s soccer program. She was declared on the roster and attended every home game.

Alyssa Zeoli, Natalie Marrone, Emma Sinanan, Delaney Williams, Robyn Seward and Ashley Kenny were the chairs of the project. Through TeamIMPACT, a foundation that helps kids diagnosed with health disadvantages achieve their dreams, the girls were able to bring Jules into the team and help her be a part of a group she looked up to. Together with the rest of the team, the girls made sure to play to their fullest potential for Jules.

Luckily, a year and a half later, which leads up to today, Jules has been able to check off two tasks off her bucket list: being a part of a collegiate team and surviving cancer.

About

Welcome to Pace Connetions. My name is Tajah Ware and I am one of the five writers for this blog. The purpose of this blog is to inform our audience about the connections Pace University has with its surrounding community aka Pleasantville.  This blog will be very beneficial and hopefully informative for our audience. We feel as if  many people aren’t fully aware of the connections Pace University has with the surrounding town because of how small and isolated the school is. The point of this blog will be to let our audience know of the connections Pace U has with the local towns.

One of the connections many people already know about is Flex Dollars. Flex Dollars are something Pace students are given at the beginning of each semester. They allow students to be able to eat out at  certain restaurants without having to pay with actual cash. I’m sure actual cash is given to these restaurants by Pace but the students don’t have to pay with actual cash. Students, or at least the ones’  living on campus, are given around $100 flex dollars each semester. This connection that Pace has formed with local restaurants is pretty beneficial and creative. Later on this week I will talk about another cool connection Pace has with  local businesses or people in the surrounding community. Be on the lookout!