Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.17
Liaison Emily Vollmer
Submission Date May 16, 2024

STARS v2.2

Virginia Tech
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Emily Vollmer
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Earth Week

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:
The Earth Week Program. Virginia Tech, the Town of Blacksburg, and the local citizens group Sustainable Blacksburg collaborate every year to put on a week-long celebration of sustainability progress. You can find last year's events here: https://www.facilities.vt.edu/sustainability/sustainability-programs/earth-week.html Some examples of events that were collaborative across our communities include the Erin Brockovich Film Screen at the historic Lyric Theater downtown, the electric vehicle show and tell event at the Blacksburg public library, and tabling at the Blacksburg Farmers Market.

The Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability is only able to pull of such a successful Earth Week through our partnership with the Town of Blacksburg and Sustainable Blacksburg. An employee of the VT Office of Sustainability always holds a seat on the Sustainable Blacksburg Board of Directors to serve as a liaison and help build this valuable community partnership.

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Community Housing Partners

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-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
Not Sure

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
CHP is a successful non-profit organization dedicated to planning, developing and managing affordable housing with sustainability (people, planet, profit) as its principal objective. http://www.communityhousingpartners.org

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Warm Hearth Village

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-focused

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):
Teresa Sweeney, our Facilities Program Consultant who specializes in waste management at Virginia Tech has partnered with Warm Hearth Village retirement community in Blacksburg, VA. She has provided guidance and recycling materials to the Warm Hearth Village's Reduce Reuse Recycle (RRR) Committee for the past 2 years. This committee is resident-focus and seeks to meet the unique needs of this elderly community through providing proper recycling guidelines or training. These guidelines serve residents that may have visual, auditory, or cognitive impairments. Thus, Teresa partners with the RRR Committee to help develop, edit, advise, and finalize these guidelines and training sessions for residents.

With 45 years of experience caring for seniors, Warm Hearth Village is the New River Valley’s only comprehensive, nonprofit retirement community. Their woodland campus in Blacksburg is located within view of Virginia Tech and is just minutes from shopping, cultural events, recreational opportunities, restaurants, professional services and Lewis Gale Hospital at Montgomery. https://retire.org/

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
Catawba Sustainability Center - The Catawba Sustainability Center strives on its local partnership with Virginia Tech, the County of Roanoke, as well as a close relationship with Virginia Cooperative Extension. The Catawba Sustainability Center offers a space for faculty, students of all ages, community members, and visitors just passing through to learn about sustainable agriculture production, agroforestry, water quality monitoring, wetland restoration, and much more.
https://www.vtrc.vt.edu/catawba.html

Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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