Three months into the 2009-2010 school year, “Husky Reach”, the community service program of the Division of Athletics, is going full swing at Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester.

The goal of the program is to inspire, encourage, and support a healthy interest in reading. At the program’s September kickoff, UConn student-athletes extended a challenge to the school’s students, encouraging them to top the mark of one million minutes of reading achieved last year through Husky Reach.

If they meet that goal, the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders will earn a trip to see a UConn women’s basketball game. The kindergarten through third-grade classes will come to UConn for a campus tour, including a trip to the UConn Dairy Bar, the UConn television studios and a physics classroom. Last year, more than 100 Verplanck students visited the campus and were recognized on the floor of Gampel Pavilion during a women’s basketball game. Their parents were invited on a separate tour to learn about the possibilities offered to their children through higher education.

Husky Reach is funded by the SBM Charitable Foundation, which was established in 2000 by Connecticut Bankshares, the parent company of the former Savings Bank of Manchester.

“We are proud to support Husky Reach,” says SBM Foundation President Richard Meduski. “Our Foundation is committed to bettering the lives of those who live east of the river, and we have a particular focus on helping children. Through Husky Reach, we have created a meaningful program that promotes education and the ideals that can be learned from athletics, such as good teamwork and sportsmanship. Husky Reach has been a huge success with this school and its students, and we hope to replicate this program at other schools in the future.”

As part of Husky Reach, UConn’s teams and groups of UConn student-athletes “adopt” grades at Verplanck and visit with a classroom each week for six weeks. The student-athletes engage the students in discussions of important life topics such as responsibility, teamwork and time management. They also deliver books to the classrooms, and are joined by students from Delta Sigma Pi, the School of Business professional fraternity, who host Friday afternoon “business lunches” with the fifth-graders.

Verplanck’s principal, Mike Saimond, says that the experience is invaluable for his school.

“This is a great motivator for the students, and they get more and more excited about it as the school year goes on and they can see the progress they’re making,” says Saimond. “The amount of reading they did last year was incredible. One of our second-graders has just turned into a voracious reader, and was one of five students across our district recognized by the Board of Education for outstanding work. It’s been wonderful.”

UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey Hathaway says that the program perfectly pairs the University with community partners.

“Community service for our student-athletes is a priority of the Division of Athletics, along with excellence in the classroom and athletic achievement,” says Hathaway. “Husky Reach has allowed our student-athletes to interact with the children and promote an enthusiasm for education. The SBM Charitable Foundation and our student-athletes are working together to make a tangible difference in the lives of the young students at Verplanck.”

Victoria Joel, a former UConn women’s lacrosse player, coordinates the program for the Division of Athletics and sees the benefits for both the student-athletes and the Verplanck community.

“Student-athletes are used to interacting with fans who are children and this is a great way for them to further that relationship,” Joel says. “These student-athletes are in a great position to act as role models and to impress upon the students at Verplanck the importance of education. The Verplanck students also hear and can see that athletics is a great tool and a wonderful experience, but it is really the academic backbone you receive at UConn that you can rely on for the rest of your life. Husky Reach is such a positive experience, and has proven to be a mutually beneficial relationship for everyone involved.”

For more information about supporting the Husky Reach Program, please contact the development department for the Division of Athletics.