University of Vermont
IN-4: Innovation 4

The Office of Student and Community Relations is committed to creating a safe and socially just environment for University of Vermont students living off campus through partnering with students and their neighbors on initiatives and programs. The office provides resources and support to so that they will have successful experiences as both citizens and renters. The office accomplishes this by: • Providing guidance, support, and resources to off-campus students so they can better navigate their off-campus life. See the Off-campus Living Survival Guide http://www.uvm.edu/~oscr/pdfs/offcampusguide.pdf • Identifying issues or problems confronting off-campus students and their neighbors and developing strategies to address them in ways that build community and incorporate personal responsibility. Their electronic newsletter goes out to all off-campus students. • Working through a community development vehicles, such as teaching conflict-resolution skill building and providing neighborhood grants to do projects, like community gardens. • Partnering with others to offer numerous events, including -Babysitter Mingler -Catamount Classes -Community Coalition Meetings -Have a Heart Campaign -Meet Your Neighbor Day -Neighborhood Clean-Ups -Off-Campus Living Workshops -Student-Neighbor Liaison Program Potlucks -Spring Move Out Project (SMOP)

About SMOP What is SMOP? It's a signature event of the Office of Student and Community Relations, the Spring Move Out Project. At the end of spring semester UVM, Champlain College, Chittenden Solid Waste District, the Burlington Code Enforcement Office, the Burlington Community & Economic Development Office, and a reuse store called ReSource partner to provide information to students about what to do with all the stuff they don't want when they are moving out of town and host an all-day, free community swap and recycling event. They helped keep about more than 20,000 lbs of material from clogging Burlington's neighborhood greenbelts.