University of the Pacific
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Center for Community Involvement (CCI) is a student-centered university department that provides innovative community service and education to the Stockton community. CCI offers a central online platform called Reach Out, used for posting and signing up for volunteer opportunities. Over the course of the 2016-17 school year, a total of 285 Pacific volunteers volunteered 4,515 hours across 22 community partners in Stockton. Some of the ongoing volunteer opportunities include: Garden Assistant at PUENTES, a human services and development organization, Animal Recovery & Clinic Promotion Volunteer at ACT Non Profit Spay/Neuter Clinic, and Kitchen Volunteer with St. Mary’s Dining Room, a nonprofit organization offering services for homeless and low income community members.

CCI also has a strong Community Tutoring Program which sends Pacific student tutors out to different schools and after school programs in the Stockton community. During the 16-17 school year, 48 Pacific tutors tutored at 9 different community sites. They served roughly 450 students throughout the Stockton Unified School District.

Originally designed to help those with mental illness reintegrate in to communities in the 1970’s when many mental health facilities were decommissioned, the Career Re-Entry Program, previously known as the Community Re-Entry Program, is still a strong partnership between Pacific faculty and students in the Department of Psychology and the San Joaquin County Office of Mental Health. As part of the CRP Pacific undergraduate and graduate students use applied behavior analysis and life skills training to create individualized treatment for very specific problems faced by those with mental illness. About 380 individuals are treated every month. Life skills training occurs in areas such as consumerism, vocational skill development, sports, financial management, nutrition and personal and system advocacy.

The Office of External Relations coordinates the Beyond Our Gates initiative to improve the social and economic health of the region by addressing educational needs in San Joaquin County and the surrounding area. The initiative began in 2010 and encompasses two major programs, Reading by Third and The Tomorrow Project.

Reading by Third programming is a collaboration between The University, San Joaquin Reads, Every Day Counts and the San Joaquin County Office of Education, several school districts and many other community partners to increase literacy in San Joaquin County by addressing school readiness, attendance, and summer learning. In 2017, the National Civic League’s All-America Cities competition was based around Reading By Third criteria. The Office of External Relations wrote the city’s All-America City application, and Stockton was one of 15 cities to receive the honor in June.

The Tomorrow Project aims to boost high school graduation and raise college attendance of Stockton students. Pacific in collaboration with the Stockton, Lodi and Manteca Unified School Districts, Reach for the Stars Foundation, San Joaquin Delta College and others, provide after-school, weekend and summer programs for some of the region’s most academically vulnerable children.

The Beyond Our Gates Community Council, which meets quarterly, guides Pacific's ongoing Beyond Our Gates priorities and programs. The Council is made up of local leaders from fields spanning business, education, nonprofit, media, government and faith. A smaller (12 members) Beyond Our Gates Executive Committee serves as the strategic and planning arm of the program.

Through the work of the council and executive committee, San Joaquin County has been designated a national Pacesetter in the area of early literacy for four consecutive years as well as a Grad Nation Community, in recognition of efforts to end the country's high school dropout crisis.

Center for Community Involvement: http://www.pacific.edu/Community/Center-for-Community-Involvement.html

Reach Out: http://pacific.galaxydigital.com/

Career Re-Entry Program: http://www.pacific.edu/Academics/Schools-and-Colleges/College-of-the-Pacific/Academics/Departments-and-Programs/Psychology/Discover-Psychology/Community-Re-Entry-Program.html

Beyond Our Gates: http://www.pacific.edu/Community/Beyond-Our-Gates.html

Article: "Pacific's Beyond Our Gates helps propel city to fourth All-American title": http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacific/Newsroom/2017/June-2017/Pacific%e2%80%99s-Beyond-Our-Gates-helps-propel-city-to-fourth-All-America-title.html

Reading By Third: http://www.pacific.edu/Community/Beyond-Our-Gates/Reading-by-Third.html

The Tomorrow Project: http://www.pacific.edu/Community/Beyond-Our-Gates/Tomorrow-Project.html

San Joaquin Reads (program within Beyond Our Gates): http://www.pacific.edu/Community/Beyond-Our-Gates/Reading-by-Third/San-Joaquin-Reads.html