On the morning of LA-based dance company BODYTRAFFIC‘s performance at Staller Center on February 8, the dancers headed over to the new Stony Brook Children’s Hospital to spend time with a few of its patients. It was there, within newly painted and decorated walls lined with oceanic themed paintings and paper mache art, they met with and performed for about a dozen of the 40 patients in the hospital that day.

“It’s always very rewarding to be able to give back to the community and spread the joy of dance with everyone, but especially with those who are really in need of a pick-me-up,” said Jamal White, a dancer, and BODYTRAFFIC’s social media manager. The last little girl he visited became his favorite because of her delighted laughter. She sat giggling and clapping along while two of his colleagues went through some of their steps. “It was the cherry on top.”

Splitting off into smaller groups, the dancers were able to visit a few patients in their rooms where they showed off a modified version of a dance they would later perform in front of hundreds at the sold-out Staller Center show. A few children joined in, learning some of the steps after some encouragement from the dancers.

The outreach program was coordinated by Staller Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, and BODYTRAFFIC. “It was a wonderful collaboration, and we look forward to working with the Children’s Hospital again soon,” said Staller Center Outreach Director Paul Newland.

Read the full story: BODYTRAFFIC Visits Stony Brook Children’s Hospital Before Staller Center Show

On September 10, 2020, student leaders from across New York State participated in a virtual Town Hall meeting hosted by Cornell University’s Student Government Relations. Participants from Stony Brook University, Syracuse, Niagara, and the University of Rochester formed a virtual panel to discuss ways that college students could plan to support their campus and greater college town communities in managing the pandemic this semester. In addition, community members were also invited to listen in and ask questions about their concerns.

Two Stony Brook University student leaders were invited to be panelists through the SBU Government and Community Relations Office — Enrica Lee, a senior with a double major in psychology and biology and president of SBU’s Music and Medicine club, and Jennifer Krustanovich, a senior majoring in business and health sciences who also serves as a sexual health peer educator with the Center for Prevention and Outreach (CPO).

Both Lee and Krustanovich, as well as the other student leaders, are confident that sharing thoughts and fostering collaboration is a critical element of learning and growing together over the next several months. The meeting ended with a plea for community members to reach out to their local college with any cares or concerns. The students are happy to hear from the community and want to encourage open dialogue.

Questions or comments can be directed to the Government and Community Relations Office at 631.632.9117.

Read the full story: Stony Brook Student Leaders Participate in Statewide COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall

By employing student research assistants from the College of Business and Center of Entrepreneurial Finance (CEF), the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center (SBDC) developed a small business recovery and resiliency webinar series to provide tools to assist small- and medium-sized businesses recover from the devastating ongoing pandemic and unprecedented economic disruption. Sponsored by BNB Bank, the student research assistants gained hands-on experience for their future endeavors.

Funded by the State and Federal Government, the SBDC provides free and confidential, one-on-one business counseling to business owners. Statistics compiled by the SBA indicate that between March and September, those virtual counseling sessions assisted more than 900 small businesses in processing more than $35 million in Economic Injury Disaster and Paycheck Protection Program Loans, thereby helping those Suffolk County businesses save more than 1,450 jobs.

“The students have done an outstanding job in providing research for the three hardest-hit industries — restaurant, retail, and construction — and now understand the devastating economic effect of COVID-19 as it adversely affected and shut down small businesses throughout the country,” said SBDC Administrator Martha Stansbury.

Jacob Rueb ’21, a business management major, specializing in finance and operations management, said that during his research, he learned that many businesses were not ready for the restrictions brought by the pandemic because they did not have an online presence that allowed for revenue generation while their physical locations were restricted or shut down. He added that those who implemented online ordering or curbside pickup achieved a measure of success.

“We did make recommendations,” Rueb said. “Those recommendations included where to cut costs depending upon the industry and adjusting their digital marketing strategy.”

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Read the full story: SBDC, Business Students Team Up to Help Local Firms Cope with Pandemic