校友领导RIPTA，餐车合作为老年人提供食物
运用他们与罗杰的关系和从研究中得到的经验教训, alumni and staff work together to deliver food to seniors and others at higher risk during COVID-19
波塔基特,R.I. – People around the region have been sheltering in their homes to prevent exposure and spread of COVID-19, 小心翼翼地外出购买必需品，如食品杂货. But for those most vulnerable to the virus, t嘿 may not be able to risk a trip to get 牛奶 and eggs.
That’s where some Roger Williams University alumni and dining services have stepped up to fill a critical need in our local communities.
Shortly after Rhode Island’s stay-at-home order went into effect, the two alumni leading the 罗德岛公共交通管理局 (RIPTA)和 车轮上的餐点 看到了一个帮助居家老人的独特机会. RIPTA首席执行官斯科特·阿维迪西安(Scott Avedisian)联系了霍克大学的同学, Meals on Wheels Executive Director Meghan Grady ’08 – both graduates of RWU’s Master of Public Administration program – offering to provide drivers and vehicles from the paratransit division to assist in getting meals out to the elderly quarantining in their homes. 多亏了他们和罗杰·威廉姆斯的关系, Avedisian and Grady had already been developing ways to connect their public services prior to the pandemic, 所以只需要一个简短的电话就能实现这个目标.
“罗杰·威廉姆斯的校友网络给了我们很多人一种能力, 即使我们不在一起上课, 拥有你可以建立的联系吗. Whether it be networking events or knowing somebody else who went through the program and you can reach out to them, 罗杰·威廉姆斯有很多方式让我们彼此合作,阿维迪安说.
乘客人数从58人下降了,000 to 14,每天有1000人, Avedisian said RIPTA looked for ways to “productively help the community” and give employees a feeling that t嘿 were making a meaningful impact during this challenging time.
这个提议来得再好不过了.I. 格雷迪说，人们对食物的需求“大幅增加”. 在大流行之前, 他们一直在服务,每天200人, 但现在大约是4份,每天有1000名老人, 主要由志愿者使用自己的车辆分发.
过去的几个星期, RIPTA drivers have been stopping by Meals on Wheels headquarters in Providence to load the meals t嘿’ll deliver along their scheduled transport routes. 当他们把饭送到前门的时候, the driver often gets a thank you or thumbs up from homebound seniors (at a distance). T嘿 delivered 125 meals just in the first week in the Pawtucket area where the nonprofit had the biggest gap in volunteer services.
“给一个叫大卫的年轻司机, 到了第二站，他去送食物了, 一个女人告诉他，他是她那天唯一能见到的人. 所以当你能产生这样的影响时，这是非常令人印象深刻的，”Avedisian说.
“We are incredibly grateful to all of the individuals that have stepped up to help us serve seniors, 尤其是RIPTA, and we really consider everyone who is working on behalf of our mission to be delivery heroes,格雷迪说.
服务的时间
其他老鹰队也做出了回应，希望能挺身而出，做更多的事情.
作为营销经理 盛宴 & 身体状况, Sarah MacDougall ’19 helped her company navigate ways to assist their vulnerable clientele and local businesses to make it through the quarantine order. MacDougall, 谁毕业于RWU的市场营销学位, 熟食服务中心说, 总部设在东普罗维登斯, 首先询问他们的客户在这段时间他们可以如何帮助他们.
“A lot of our members are elderly and (at) high-risk (to the virus) and were concerned about leaving their homes. 他们要鸡蛋, 牛奶, coffee – things we could add to the meal service so t嘿 didn’t have to leave the house,麦克杜格尔说.
考虑到这些需求，盛宴 & 菲特尔与当地的面包店合作, 农场, 杂货供应商, 比如莱特农场, 新丰收咖啡, 和PVDonuts. 他们的订单增长了50%以上，现在每周有450个订户. 满足需求, 公司雇了八名新员工, 其中许多人最近因大流行失业.
麦克杜格尔自2018年公司成立以来一直在公司工作, starting with a for-credit internship where she helped promote events and build partnerships with local businesses. 在她完成了密集的广告活动实习之后, 最终，为一个真正的客户提出了一个全面的营销计划 全国大学生广告大赛 最后一年，麦克杜格尔回到了盛宴公司 & 费特尔带着她所学的一切找到了一份全职工作, 先是管理他们的社交媒体，现在是营销经理.
“When I did NSAC with Professor Matos, I really got to experience 广告 and I was obsessed. 我的职业生涯都要感谢这个项目，”她说. “在那段时间里，我了解了盛宴的所有广告机会 & 费特尔可能在做什么, 所以我毕业后回去对他们说, 嘿, 我学到了很多合作之外的东西, 关于品牌, 广告, 还有社交媒体.”
作为一名年轻的营销人员, MacDougall is finding it truly rewarding to help the company respond to the needs of its clients as well as serving the local communities. “It’s been the nature of our business to support the community since day one,” she added.
与此同时, Roger Williams dining services has also been lending a helping hand to get much-needed food to the local community.
不合适的, 她是RWU的餐饮服务经理，也是当地的社区成员, 一直担任志愿者队长 希望 & Main的“滋养我们的邻居”计划为东湾弱势家庭和老年人提供健康膳食. 在fit的帮助下, 该计划已安全分发了近3,向粮食不安全的社区提供1万顿饭. He’s also assisted the Warren nonprofit in setting up as a meal distribution site for the Bristol-Warren School District while schools are closed.
“Donnie has stepped naturally into this vital leadership role as a compassionate champion for food access for the community! He has been a calming presence for staff here who ordinarily don't manage these kinds of complex food prep and distribution efforts,丽莎·拉伊奥拉说, 总统 & 希望创始人 & 校长和RWU的受托人.“We so appreciate Donnie and the fact that Roger Williams is able to support the East Bay community and local families during this time of enormous need. 如果没有RWU的合作伙伴关系，滋养我们的邻居是不可能的!”