Despite all of the bizarre and surreal activities of 2020, the holiday season is upon us. This year of emotional swings, fear and anxiety did not come to stay. Instead, we found stories of resilience, hope and courage. The pandemic forced us to look at life differently, reinvent it and continue on.

As is our tradition in the Office of Government and Community Relations, we’re celebrating the campus community by sharing some uplifting stories of the ways Stony Brook students and employees came together this year to improve the lives of others.

We wish you peace and good health for the new year.

This year, in lieu of mailing holiday cards, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital gave a donation to Heart of the Hamptons to help support their mission of serving our community.

Pictured from left, Kenneth B. Wright, Board Chair, Southampton Hospital Association and Bob Chaloner, CAO, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, present the gift to Hilton Crosby, Executive Director of Heart of the Hamptons. Here they are pictured with some team members that make this important work possible (from left): Delaney Jones, Maripaz Ramos, and Maribel Ramos.

SUNY’s Got Your Back initiative provides SUNY campuses across the state with materials to make comfort kits for victims and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence and raise awareness and support for prevention and response to sexual violence.

Renowned DJ and activist Zeke Thomas joined as guest speaker and performed a music set at the event .

Stony Brook University, in collaboration with State University of New York (SUNY), hosted the SUNY’s Got Your Back at SBU event on Monday, March 11.

Long sets of tables were spread out around the Ballroom A in the Student Activities Center. SUNY donated all the items to create the comfort kits, but more than 200 volunteers, from approximately 177 different student clubs and organizations, helped set up and organize the materials such as cloth towel, cosmetic kits, tissues, toothbrushes, notebooks and writing utensils, which the over 300 participants then gathered and put into the bright blue bags.

Renowned DJ and activist Zeke Thomas made an appearance as the guest speaker and performed a set for the participants as an appreciation for their work.

Thomas is the son of basketball legend Isiah Thomas and a survivor of sexual assault, and aims to raise awareness about the issues of sexual violence and survivor support through the platform of his music. He partnered with SUNY to perform at many of the campuses hosting SUNY’S Got Your Back throughout the year.

Stony Brook’s Center for Prevention and Outreach reached out to multiple departments and organizations on campus, including Student Affairs, Undergraduate Colleges, Graduate Student Organization, Faculty Student Association, and Stony Brook Athletics, about partnering on the event.

Read the full story.