Students lend Red-Mittened hand

In Step representatives are recognized during the Miami-UC game Oct. 3.

Students gathered outside the Farmer School building to celebrate In Step with the ComMUnity.

Swoop joins Dr. Terri Barr and Dean Mike Curme to rally the In Step crowd as they form their parade to Tailgate Town.

A handful of red mittens has grown into a chain of linked hands leading from the Farmer School into the community of Oxford and beyond.

A new community service initiative, called ComMUnity, started with the annual Red Mitten Campaign, in which FSB students, faculty and staff contribute one or more items to brighten the holidays for several needy families in the Talawanda School District. This year, two new projects join that effort under the new ComMUnity umbrella.

The first is an environmental education initiative. Students from the Farmer School, Miami’s environmental sciences program and Green Oxford recently made presentations on sustainability to students in environmental science classes at Talawanda High School. One focus was the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): the new FSB building will soon receive Silver LEED certification, while plans for the new Talawanda High School call for design and construction standards that will earn it LEED designation as well.

The Miami – Talawanda relationship will continue with an environmental science fair Nov. 21, to be hosted by the Farmer School.

The second project, “In Step with the Community,” began with a rally and parade from the Farmer School building to Yager Stadium just before the Miami-UC football game on Oct. 3, which was also Talawanda Day. Farmer School students and their families, along with Talawanda students and staff, participated in the spirit event. Thanks to a partnership with Miami’s Office of Intercollegiate Athletics and its MiamiCARES program, FSB student business organizations were able to secure football tickets for 90 Talawanda students. The organizations, with the help of Dennison Community Council, also raised money to buy gift cards that school officials will use to purchase needed school supplies.

Participating in the parade from the new Farmer School building to Tailgate Town were members of several of Miami’s women’s athletic squads: the synchronized skating teams, swim team, softball team, and track team.

“Our students have stepped up with great enthusiasm for these projects, and for the ComMUnity initiative in general,” said marketing faculty member Terri Barr, originator of the Red Mitten Campaign and one of the ComMUnity initiative organizers.

“It’s commendable, I think, that the students have successfully carried out both the rally and the sustainability presentations within the space of a few weeks – and this within a brand-new organization,” added Farmer School Associate Dean Mike Curme, who worked closely with students on the rally event.

Barr said that plans are underway for the December Red Mitten drive and other ComMUnity activities spring semester.

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