Dissemination 2-1-1Alpha Phi Pi, Ivy Tech Community College, Kokomo, Indiana

Briefly describe your College Project and who from the chapter and the college administration was involved?

Alpha Phi Pis College Project called Dissemination 2-1-1 emerged from our colleges goal of increasing student attendance and retention. The project fits within the national Achieving the Dream initiative to assist community college students achieve success with their educational goals. United Way is very active community participant in our Colleges region. The college saw United Ways Call 2-1-1 telephone based help-line system as a pre-existing answer to the issues students face, but that the college does not have the resources for which to assist. These life events often take the form of job loss, vehicle and housing problems, spousal abuse, a lack of childcare, and other events that affect student performance attendance and retention. United Ways 2-1-1 program is committed to connecting people to human services for information and answers to a myriad of topics such as food, counseling, employment, health care, substance abuse, domestic violence, housing/shelter, legal aid, education, and much more.

Positive intervention with these life events is viewed as a point with which attendance and retention can be increased. The project began with proposing effective ways of efficiently bringing these resources to the students. Our chapter collaborated with Michelle Simmons, our Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, to develop a program to target a vast number of the student populace. The peer program, led by PTK members, is an ongoing effort in place under the guidance of our English Program Chair, Ethan Heicher.

Summarize your objectives for the College Project and the process by which the chapter and college administration set these objectives?

Our objective was to bring resource awareness to as many students as possible that had a need or knew someone who was in need of any type of assistance. We believed it necessary to establish goals to define the methods required to achieve our objective successfully. In doing so, we gained ideas and direction to carry the information forward. Our participating chapter officers and members signed up each week during fall and spring semesters for specific times to interact with the student body. At first we only set up shop in the campus lobby; however, we soon discovered that most of our contact with students was during class and between classes. Trying to catch a student to discuss vital information was difficult as they entered the school on their way to classes. Our objective stayed the same, but the process by which we achieved that objective changed we sought more one on one contact. It was then that we could speak about specific issues in greater detail to inform fellow students of the free resources available to them through United Ways 2-1-1 services. We discovered students were willing to accept and seek the information we offered through this more direct contact. In addition, several members spoke with instructors to either make a brief announcement or gain permission to speak prior to class, as well as, placing 2-1-1 materials throughout campus to make them even more accessible. We have a designated table in the main lobby with brochures, business cards, and volunteer packet printouts, as well as, materials spread throughout the LRC and student commons.

Describe the planning process and strategies developed to complete the College Project?

Our planning process and strategies involved a discussion of how we would promote awareness of the United Ways 2-1-1 telephone based program. Installing effective methods to share this valuable information required a great deal of tactfulness and respect. Learning to read the signs a fellow student was sending when talking about very personal needs was of the utmost importance to us.

We worked with our Colleges United Way liaisons for help with the delicacy of our delivery. Sometimes students needing information about private topics were provided without actually addressing them in any detail. Simply listing all the various helpful topics clearly enough that each available resource could be understood and identified was most crucial. We began by developing questions that might spark interest to any one of these issues such as, Hello, did you know or have you ever heard of Call 2-1-1? Again, we wanted to be certain that we covered as many available resources as possible, while hoping that we were making a clear personal connection with those that needed it most. If we were able to do nothing else but get a business card in their hands, we knew they may use it later.

What were the qualitative and quantitative outcomes of your project, including the lessons learned by your chapter members and others?

Reaching the diverse population was attainable through our project frontrunners. The growth in recognition from our dissemination of 2-1-1 information around campus was noticeable and rewarding. Feedback grew quickly as more and more students became informed and aware of the resources both they and their families could benefit from. As we handed out hundreds of information cards and volunteer packets we knew we were helping students have a great change to achieve their collegiate dream. Lessons learned? Information and caring are powerful tools that can change lives.

We stepped back occasionally to assess our progress in order to determine whether there were areas we could improve upon. We asked students and ourselves if there were matters not covered or that we should put a greater emphasis on. In general, nearly all the students took away exactly what they needed. They were now empowered with the proper tools to adequately locate solutions to many of their greatest concerns.

We saw members gradually come out of their timid shells as they recognized the importance of their message and the resulting impact on their peers. By seeing the good that resulted from helping others to find these resources, the courage to speak up came naturally.

What is left undone or what opportunities remain for the future?

Project collaboration with our vice Chancellor of Student Affairs will continue for the foreseeable future. We plan to continue the handing out of brochures, Call 2-1-1 cards, and to solicit volunteers throughout the academic school year. Additionally, our college campus main lobby has a 42 flat-screen monitor available for our chapter to display PowerPoint presentations that will include the Call 2-1-1 program. We are making strides to see to it that beginning with the spring 2012 semester the Call 2-1-1 information program will be included as part of the presented material in our mandatory introductory class for new students. Lastly, our chapter has a regional officer that also works as student college editor who can include Call 2-1-1 information in our weekly paper, The Wall.

The success of the College Project Dissemination 2-1-1 has opened a gateway for our chapter to continue to share the knowledge of this resource and to help our fellow students. There has been talk that future possibilities may include the gathering of feedback from the students that use the system in order to offer enhancements to the program. Discussions will continue as we maintain our goal of helping all students achieve success with their educational goals.