SUNY Canton Joins Area Colleges for TRiO Celebration

Related Media

CANTON, NY (02/27/2018) St. Lawrence County's four associated colleges are coming together to celebrate TRiO Student Support Services Week with a book drive and a reading by New York State Assemblymember Addie Jenne.

"It is fitting that TRIO is supporting another fantastic educational program, Head Start, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration," Jenne said. "These programs are fantastic and help so many working families help their children attain the American dream. I'm excited to help raise awareness and support their continued success."

Jenne will be attending TRiO's Family Fun Party, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (March 3) at the Presbyterian Church, 42 Elm Street in Potsdam. The event is open to the public, and students will be collecting donations to benefit area head start programs. Items requested include books for ages 1- 5, crayons, beginner pencils, washable markers, construction paper, puzzles and educational toys.

"We wanted to come together across the four colleges to highlight our programs and give back to the community," said Brenda L. Miller, SUNY Canton TRiO director. "It's a way for our current students to support future generations."

Federal TRiO programs exist through the Higher Education Act and assist eligible students in beginning and completing a post-secondary education. SUNY Canton, SUNY Potsdam, St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University all have TRiO programs to assist their student populations. Each campus is participating in collections for the event.

The Federal TRiO program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Since 1968, the TRIO programs have been expanded to provide a wide range of services. Today, nine TRIO programs are included under the TRIO umbrella, seven of which provide direct services to students.

In further celebration of this historic milestone, SUNY Canton TRiO held a "Cans for Cupcakes" drive to collect food donations for the college's food pantry, which helps alleviate food insecurity for students on campus.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 13 online degree programs. The college's 15 athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level and recently joined the North Atlantic Conference. The college is home to a new eSports program with teams playing competitive intercollegiate video games. For more information, visit www.canton.edu.