On November 21, 2019, the Stony Brook University community came together to participate in the first Seawolves for Service.

Students came together for a variety of service projects serving the campus and community.

Supported by the Center for Civic Justice, Student Engagement and Activities, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and student organizations Alternative Spring Break Outreach (ASBO) and Circle K International, Seawolves for Service brought to life three dimensions of service (philanthropy, community service, and service learning) through educational presentations and hands-on learning.

Representatives from each campus department and student organization shared about their work, the impact of their work on people and communities, and ways in which students can get involved in meaningful service.

After sharing out, each campus department and student organization hosted a hands-on service learning activity. The activities included creating hygiene kits, snack packs, dog blankets, and hats and scarves. Students also learned about why they are participating in these activities and who will be directly impacted by their service throughout the night.

The items made at Seawolves for Service will be distributed on campus and in surrounding
communities to support meeting the basic needs of hundreds of people.

While participating in the hands-on service learning activities, students also interacted with over 10 other philanthropy, community service, and service learning focused student organizations on campus.

Over 200 students came to the first Seawolves for Service, and those same students left with a greater sense of commitment to service and community.

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The Faculty Student Association (FSA) and CulinArt have recently partnered with the Food Recovery Network, a national nonprofit that helps fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste and donates it to those in need.

FSA and the Food Recovery Network partnered fight against hunger.

Student volunteers recover surplus food from CulinArt and transport it to our hunger-fighting partner agency, which is Island Harvest. Recently, volunteers delivered food to Hand Across Long Island in Central Islip.

The program has been in place for three weeks, with nearly 500 pounds of food donated.

The Food Recovery Network is the largest student movement fighting against food waste and hunger, donating more than 3.9 million pounds of food, feeding 3.2 million meals and preventing more than 6.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide from reaching the environment.

“I think this is a great initiative because what we don’t realize is how much food waste we actually have. In our dining halls, there’s food that goes uneaten and that’s food that could really go to people in need,” stated by Sophia Zhukovsky ’22, Political Science/Environmental Humanities.

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This year at Kelly Quad, home of the Undergraduate College of Human Development, resident assistant Noah Montague ‘19 dreamed up the Kelly Music Festival, a musical bash with a charitable twist.

Earlier this year, Montague, a second-year resident assistant, suggested the quad put together a battle of the bands party. His supervisors told him that years ago, Kelly was known for an annual music festival. Montague thought it was a perfect fit.

“I wanted to take what was offered in the past, which was just musical performances, and expand it to include other activities, food and off-campus vendors,” he said.

“We wanted to offer an event that was more than just having fun. Ideally, we also wanted the ability to contribute to an organization that could benefit from our support,” Montague explained.

They began to research charities focused on music education, and selected the Save the Music Foundation, a nonprofit that provides public schools with funding, materials and professional development for music education programs. Proceeds from a Stony Brook apparel raffle at the fest will be donated to the foundation.

Kelly Music Fest featured performances from a variety of student and local musicians. They included singer-songwriters, pop artists, and R&B/hip hop groups, among others.

Sal Fratto ‘19, an English major and jazz studies minor, is no stranger to taking the stage. While Fratto performed solo at the fest, his indie-punk band Elephant Jake has toured half of the U.S. and parts of Canada.

“It’s so important to keep a sense of community thriving at the University, and live music is a great way to accomplish that,” Fratto said. “The camaraderie here at Stony Brook is unparalleled. Being a part of this festival has been really important to me, and I was honored to perform for everyone.”

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