Taking on a Global Challenge Locally

By Patrick Bohn ’05, April 14, 2020

Ithaca College community comes together to give back during the coronavirus crisis.

At 4 p.m., the “pay-what-you-can” community kitchen at Collegetown Bagels becomes free — with one important caveat.

(Photo by Mattie Hause)

When Ithaca College launched its new strategic plan “Ithaca Forever” this past fall, one of the central tenets was that the institution continue to be a private college that serves a public good, through both its own initiatives as well as community partnerships.

Throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the college community has demonstrated its commitment to that goal. Over the past few weeks, current students, alumni, faculty, and staff have all gone above and beyond to help the local community battle the coronavirus crisis.

Food on the front lines

As he watched the situation unfold, Gregar Brous ’81 knew he had to do something.

The co-owner of Collegetown Bagels, Brous was following the news of the coronavirus pandemic throughout March, and the more he saw, the more it became apparent to him that the issues caused by it weren’t going to dissipate quickly.

“It became clear that people were going to be laid off, and that, as a result, there would be a growing number of people in our community who needed help,” he said. “I knew we needed to provide that help.”

While the social distancing mandated by the government caused his restaurants to see a drastic decrease in customers, that also meant Brous had a lot of food in stock that might go to waste. And with so many community members suddenly facing financial difficulties, there were a lot of individuals who needed inexpensive options. So, he decided to turn his eatery into a “pay-what-you-can” community kitchen.

The community connection that IC encourages, it’s affected me, and it’s part of the values I try to live up to every day. We believe in our community. They’re our friends whom we’ve been serving for 40 years, and at their time of greatest need, we’re going to help them.”

Gregar Brous ’81, co-owner of Collegetown Bagels

Brous reached out to World Central Kitchen, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing meals to those in need in the wake of disasters, to learn about best practices. This was particularly important with regard to adhering to social distancing guidelines.

“I spoke to them about the best ways to distribute food safely, both for our customers and my staff,” he said. “We have a limited menu to ensure that everything that we provide — like sandwiches and salads — can be picked up and taken to go.”

Currently, the “pay-what-you-can” pantry is open until 4 p.m. every day. At that point, the food is free to anyone, with one rule: don’t take more than you need.

Brous has also launched two other initiatives, one where people can buy coffee and food to be delivered to first responders such as nurses in hospitals, and a delivery service of pantry items like butter, flour and eggs. He hopes that these programs will provide his retail locations with much needed revenue.

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“We currently get a couple hundred people coming down a day to use the pay-what-you-can service, and about a dozen people buying food at the regular price to give to those who work in hospitals,” he said. “We hope to be able to keep this going as long as we can. We aren’t ordering new food with the exception of some produce and dairy, but as long as I have the food, we’re going to feed people.”

“My mission has changed,” Brous continued. “Instead of trying to sell things, I’m trying to see what people need. The community connection that IC encourages, it’s affected me, and it’s part of the values I try to live up to every day. We believe in our community. They’re our friends whom we’ve been serving for 40 years, and at their time of greatest need, we’re going to help them.”

Another alum who has gone above and beyond to help individuals in need acquire food is Natalya Cowilich ’15. A Community Outreach Worker for Family and Children’s Services of Ithaca, many of her clients are at increased risk if they contract coronavirus and have other difficulties — such as a lack of transportation — which makes it harder to go out for food and other supplies.

Some of the supplies that Natalya Cowilich ’15 includes in the gift bags she delivers to individuals in the community.

(Photo submitted)

When Cowilich saw that some people were planning to leave Ithaca during the pandemic — in most cases leaving their food behind — she put a call out on a few listservs to see if they would be comfortable donating that food to others. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and over the span of three weeks, she was able to put together 30 large gift bags filled with shelf-stable food, basic toiletries, and some PPE, such as masks and gloves, that she received from the research lab at the School of Human Ecology at Cornell. She then personally delivered the bags to clients’ homes, while other supplies went to St. John’s Community Center.

“Going through this is hard, but it’s easier knowing that you have support, and a full pantry.”

Natalya Cowilich ’15

Cowilich’s role soon became an independent volunteer one, as Family and Children’s asked that their workers practice social distancing. But that didn’t change her mission.

“For clients of mine who can’t go out, getting these items is a huge benefit,” she said. “They’re all very grateful. Going through this is hard, but it’s easier knowing that you have support, and a full pantry.”

Like Brous, Cowilich appreciates that the values instilled in her during her time at IC are serving her well during this crisis.

“When I was a student at IC, one of the things I really liked was the emphasis on being involved in the community,” she said. “And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Distance Teaching

The coronavirus has caused primary and secondary schools across the country to switch to remote learning. But it’s not just millions of K-12 students who are affected by this shutdown. Approximately 30 student teachers in Ithaca College’s Department of Education also saw their plans interrupted.

“Our students typically do two placements in order to accrue the 40 days of teaching the state requires,” said Kimberly Slusser, the department’s field education coordinator. “They were in the middle of their second placements when the schools shut down.”

Although some IC students were still working with their mentor teachers to create and review online teaching content, Slusser was hoping to provide a better experience. And she didn’t have to wait long.

“This is a work in progress. We’re working with our students to see what they’re comfortable with.”

Kimberly Slusser, field education coordinator

“Student teachers need to work with K-12 students, and lots of K-12 students weren’t getting remote instruction from their districts right away,” she said. “We had families in the Trumansburg area reaching out for help, so a few weeks ago, myself and assistant professors of education Ellie Fulmer and Kim Knight created a Qualtrics form and reached out to families through online forums to see if our students could help.”

The response was overwhelming. More than 140 families with more than 200 children from across the globe contacted them, asking for remote instruction in subjects ranging from math to foreign language to physical education.

The project is still in its early stages, but they’ve set up an online platform through Sakai. The next stages are to have student teachers design lessons and modules based on the needs of the families, and then set up Zoom meetings to provide instruction.

“This is a work in progress,” Slusser said. “We’re working with our students to see what they’re comfortable with.”

Maintaining a connection

Ithaca College has had a longstanding partnership with Longview, an active retirement and assisted living community located directly across from campus. It’s one of the reasons the college was designated an Age-Friendly University, joining a worldwide network of 50 pioneering institutions that have proven commitments to being age-friendly in their programs and policies.

Mary Ann Erickson’s mindfulness class brings together IC students with residents at Longview.

(Screenshot courtesy of Mary Ann Erickson)

This semester, associate professor of gerontology Mary Ann Erickson wanted to deepen that connection with one of her passions: mindfulness. She decided to create a course devoted to it, to be held at Longview twice a week, where residents and IC students come together to read, talk and meditate. When the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to continue the class in-person, Erickson admitted that she wasn’t sure it was going to be able to continue at all.

“We were brainstorming ways to make it happen, and it really show a bit of an ageist attitude on my part to not think that we could just use technology,” she said. “But several of the residents were already using Zoom and iPads to communicate with their loved ones, so it hasn’t been too much of a transition.”

“For a lot of older people, especially if you don’t drive, your world is already smaller and you have less freedom, so in this extreme environment, that already small world shrinks even more.”

Mary Ann Erickson, associate professor of gerontology

The class currently consists of two Zoom meetings a week, where the students and residents discuss readings and share experiences. And while some aspects of the in-person experience cannot be replicated — such as the pre-class socialization that used to occur — there’s still a lot of meaning to the interaction.

“I think it’s important to continue doing this; something that feels normal,” Erickson said. “For a lot of older people, especially if you don’t drive, your world is already smaller and you have less freedom, so in this extreme environment, that already small world shrinks even more, so to be able to use technology to maintain a connection is great.”