Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.35
Liaison Delicia Nahman
Submission Date Sept. 12, 2023

STARS v2.2

Lafayette College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Samantha Smith
Outreach and Engagement Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Urban Garden Initiative

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
Lafayette students work alongside farmers in economically challenged areas of Easton to grow, harvest, and provide nutritious, locally-grown food produce to the community. Part of this effort to get nutrient-dense produce into the community is through our partnership with Easton Hunger Coalition in which Lafayette students work with the Easton Hunger Coalition to plan education events focused on food insufficiency and recovery at the College and in the Easton community. Students organize drives for local food banks and coordinate food sharing between pantries.

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Paxinosa Elementary School

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-related

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Office of Sustainability and the Landis Center for Community Engagement at Lafayette partner with Paxinosa Elementary School to host our West Ward Sale in the local community, within a historically disadvantaged neighborhood in Easton. The West Ward Sale is an event where items are donated by students during the Move Out process in the spring and then are sorted and redistributed to the community through a pay-what-you-can sale, keeping items in our community and out of the landfill. In the past the sale was held on campus, but through partnership with the Easton Area Community Center in 2022 and Paxinosa Elementary School in 2023, we were able to move the sale into the community, where people live, to a space residents frequent often. Paxinosa offered the space at a minimal charge (for custodial fees) given the sale's community benefit. Over 300 families frequented the sale for items such as clothes, kitchenware, carpets, appliances and more. Some residents could walk to the sale from home, decreasing barriers to access. The college plans to host the sale at this location in partnership with Paxinosa for many years to come.

https://sustainability.lafayette.edu/west-ward-sale/

3rd Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Easton Urban Farm

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-related

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Through the Landis/Office of Sustainability Fellowship program, students over the summer work in partnership with Lafayette's College farm and local Easton Urban Farm to grow and harvest produce, which they then provided through various means to Easton community members who have limited access to healthy food. A portion of their harvest is distributed via the Kellyn Foundation to food-insecure community members throughout the Lehigh Valley.

https://news.lafayette.edu/2022/09/15/students-in-new-fellowship-roles-spend-summer-2022-advancing-sustainability-initiatives/

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
https://sustainability.lafayette.edu/in-practice/community-engagement/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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