The Sullivan YEA! Program pairs volunteer Ringling students with classroom teachers to integrate art into the classroom. While the NISE officially recognizes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educators, the 红杏视频 partnership incorporates art into those concepts to create STEAM projects. In order to achieve the NISE certification, Wilkinson staff underwent a yearlong review process and had to reach a number of indicators provided by the organization.

鈥淭hrough our partnership over the years, we have done murals, illustration, puppetry, film, writing, and more,鈥� said Wilkinson teacher Tessa Healy, who helps to coordinate the partnership with the College. 鈥淲alking through our campus, there is not a single building that has been untouched by YEA! We have many STEAM-themed murals, a sensory pathway, and a native bird mural, and we have strengthened our partnership with Everglades Literacy by combining instruction about the Everglades and art through YEA! Projects.鈥�

The Ringling students typically visit the school once a week, allowing the kids to rotate through semester-long or even year-long projects.

鈥淲e have made short films and commercials with the film students and used illustration to deepen students鈥� understanding about plants growing in our school gardens,鈥� added Healy. 鈥淭hrough this project, kindergarten and first-grade students learned about a plant and then sketched it with the help of our Ringling students. Each year, these sketches are turned into 鈥榝ield guides鈥� that the students can take home with them.鈥�

In addition to the schoolwide NISE certification, 10 Wilkinson instructors have earned individual certifications as STEM teachers and another five are currently working toward that honor.

鈥淭he students love having the Ringling students on campus,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淭hey view it as a break from their day-to-day routines, but little do they know that they are deepening their learning with each visit!鈥�

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The award ceremony took place at a luncheon on Sept. 16 as part of the NHPCO鈥檚 2024 annual leadership conference in Denver, Colorado.

Blue Butterfly provides specialized grief services for teens and children. But Helmick appreciates that the work they do can benefit all young people, whether or not they鈥檝e lost someone close to them. 鈥淚 wish I had the additional support that Blue Butterfly provides,鈥� she explained. 鈥淪uch as creating a safe space to learn about their mental health and openly expressing any and all emotions.鈥�

As a scholar selected for the four-year Lazarus Experiential Learning Assistantship, Helmick is committed to volunteering for a local nonprofit that addresses issues related to poverty. But as she began learning about the community nonprofits partnered with the Lazarus program, she struggled to find the right fit.

鈥淚 was having a difficult time, and nothing had felt quite right,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until we watched the video about Blue Butterfly that something clicked. The support kids are able to receive is something I wish I had when I was younger. And now I have the opportunity to impact their lives.鈥�

Her work with Blue Butterfly includes assisting counselors with group sessions and activities in a shared space in Newtown on the first and third Wednesday of every month. She鈥檚 also offered her artistic abilities to the organization, most notably creating designs for Tidewell鈥檚 Legacy Books, in which hospice patients can write details about their lives to be given to loved ones. Helmick shares her experiences with her peers and sometimes recruits them to help with Tidewell projects.

鈥淎lthough I’m not going into any relevant field, volunteering with Blue Butterfly has taught me many transferable skills, challenged my creativity, and broadened my perspective,鈥� said Helmick. 鈥淢y target audience will most likely be the same age as kids at Blue Butterfly, and by learning about them, I learn how I can best appeal to their age and what sort of stories they not only want to see but need to see.鈥�

The Lazarus Engaged Learning Assistantship is made possible by the generous support of the Rudi Lazarus Foundation and partners with AmeriCorps to address poverty in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Lazarus scholars in the four-year program serve multiple hours per week with a local nonprofit focused on issues like hunger, nutrition, literacy, homelessness, and housing, as well as serving children and youth affected by poverty. Lazarus students develop capstone projects, recruit classmates and the Ringling community, participate in community education initiatives, and share personal reflections on their service.

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The Lazarus Engaged Learning Assistantship is a service-centered program that was established at 红杏视频 20 years ago. The program recognizes the importance of active citizenship, and provides the opportunity to pair service in the community with professional development. 

For her capstone project, Tan partnered with Children First, a non-profit Head Start program serving Sarasota County鈥檚 lowest income children. Tan created a children’s book, You Can. You Can!, acting as director and 3D modeler in collaboration with other Ringling students: Anastasia Rykova 鈥�23, Computer Animation, visual development and illustrator; Ale Ortega-Romero 鈥�23, Illustration, environment artist and illustrator; Elisia Fernandez 鈥�23, Illustration, environment artist and illustrator; Rebe Chen 鈥�23, Illustration, producer; and Valeria Fernandez 鈥�23, Visual Studies, producer. The team was supported through the project by multiple faculty members. Tan鈥檚 goal was to write a story about empowerment to help children learn to read, while also offering a strong emotional and motivational message. Over the course of the project, Tan raised almost 300 dollars for the organization, selling merchandise, and produced 120 books for the children.   

For Bowers鈥� capstone project, she partnered with All Faiths Food Bank, whom she has volunteered with since her first semester at 红杏视频 and through the Lazarus Assistantship. After completing extensive research on 鈥渇ood deserts鈥� and the issue of food insecurity 鈥� a cause that was new to Bowers 鈥� she turned her research into a zine. She started working on the zine in her sophomore year, and continued through her senior year with the help of 15 other Ringling students who contributed as illustrators. 

After completing a considerable amount of service training and two major projects, both students plan to continue in their commitment to volunteering. Bowers plans to spend her summer volunteering as an art teacher for a Boy Scout camp and at the Shakespeare in the Park free theater in Louisville, Kentucky. Tan plans to continue working with Children First, and raising money for the organization from book sales. 

Lazarus Scholars go through extensive training about various causes, themes in service, leadership, and diversity, and work to engage their non-profit partners in a holistic way. The four-year program includes scholarship and work-study opportunities and is designed to support students in their exploration of non-profit community partners; building of relationships with specific organizations; development of a creative and sustainable solution for a community challenge or initiative; and reflection of their roles as an artist in their local community. The Lazarus Engaged Learning Assistantship is funded by The Rudi Lazarus Foundation.

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To celebrate the international holiday Earth Month, the student club organized a calendar of events, both on and off campus, collaborating with student organizations and local community nonprofits to educate and engage students on sustainability.

The Green Ambassadors Earth Month programming mission statement is to, 鈥渞ethink and reframe interactions with the planet, as creatives.鈥� The events are designed to instruct students on how to incorporate more eco-friendly practices into their art and lifestyles.

The curated series of events this month included gardening and sign painting at the Orange Blossom Community Garden, and a film screening of a documentary about a professor’s creative solutions to address an ecological crisis. Collaborating with other student clubs, the Green Ambassadors painted local flora at Selby Gardens Botanical Garden with Ringling鈥檚 Plein Air Club, and took a Risograph workshop with the College鈥檚 Makers Club, making eco-friendly soy ink and rice paper prints. 

The final activity is an upcoming field trip to Mote Marine to learn about the local marine ecosystem on Saturday, April 22, 2023. The group will leave from the bridge at 9:30 am. 

Sandra Lee 鈥�24, Graphic Design, who is the head of the Green Ambassadors student club and Student Sustainability Committee has been working with the College鈥檚 Energy and Sustainability Manager Ian Shannon on a project mapping the recycling bin locations and starting a flyer campaign to raise awareness among the student body about the recycling program. Shannon and the Office of Energy and Sustainability are also overhauling the network of collection bins around campus and adding several locations to increase ease of recycling.   

In addition to the recycling program, the College has several other projects in the works, 

including adding EV charging stations around campus, installing a solar array on top of Cunniffe Commons, and a project to expand the ice storage at the chilled water plant.

Ringling鈥檚 new dining service Cunniffe Commons has already brought sustainability opportunities to the campus. The facility uses an ORCA machine to transform food waste into an environmentally safe liquid that goes down the drain, lowering the demand for pick-ups and therefore offsetting the carbon emissions of a truck coming for frequent pick-ups, all while reducing landfill contributions. The ORCA can digest up to 100 pounds of waste per hour by aerobic enzymes to create a thermophilic biological environment 鈥� essentially, recreating the conditions of a stomach.聽

For more information on the event email the Green Ambassadors at rcad.greenambassadors@gmail.com. For more information on the College鈥檚 sustainable programs and practices visit the website.  

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As a token for their committed and honorable service, 500 greeting cards were created for them, in appreciation of the work they have continued to perform on the frontline throughout the pandemic. The cards were a collaboration between 红杏视频,  Volunteer Sarasota County, the United Way Suncoast (UWS), and Sarasota Military Academy (SMA). 

500 beautifully and uniquely decorated cards were recently delivered to the DOH-Sarasota, and were mailed out the week following the Christmas holiday. 

The project was made possible by – 

Brenda Canales, Volunteer Coordinator for Sarasota County鈥檚 PRNR: for amazing project collaboration and dedicated support.

Eva Nazario, SMA Cadet: for excellent leadership, networking, and assistance with project marketing.

Chief Munoz, SMA Army Instructor (JROTC): for graciously leading the card decorating efforts, inspiring hundreds of SMA Cadets to personalize all 500 cards with bright colors. 

Heather Deyrieux, Manager – Workforce Planning & Volunteer Sarasota: for coordinating logos, card formatting, and providing guidance.

Susan Saulnier, Coordinator of Student Volunteerism & Service-Learning at 红杏视频: for providing the beautifully illustrated black and white card designs.

Juni Johnson, 红杏视频: for helping to create the inspiring card messages.

Rachel Levey-Baker, Director of Student Volunteerism and Service-Learning at 红杏视频: for welcoming this opportunity to show appreciation for frontline workers.

Jessica Maxon- Berrier, Senior Specialist, Community Engagement for United Way Suncoast: for graciously contributing project materials and printing services.

Christine Griffith, Department of Health/Sarasota鈥檚 Covid-19 Vaccine Operations Department, and Edith Richman, Volunteer Intern Services Coordinator/FDOH: for project support and distribution.

Congratulations to all who helped make this important project possible and a big THANK YOU to all of our frontline workers and volunteers! 

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