{"id":76490,"date":"2013-04-19T09:19:06","date_gmt":"2013-04-19T13:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=76490"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:13:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:13:08","slug":"students-collecting-messages-of-gratitude-for-bostons-first-responders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/04\/students-collecting-messages-of-gratitude-for-bostons-first-responders\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Collecting Messages of Gratitude for Boston’s First Responders"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Austin<\/a>
Austin Dodd ’15 (CLAS), left, and Justis Lopez ’14 (ED) write notes to Boston area first responders at the Student Union. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Austin Dodd \u201915 (CLAS) learned of Monday\u2019s gruesome attack on Boylston Street in Boston, he quickly checked Facebook to ensure that his friends \u2013 one running the race, and another standing somewhere among the throng of spectators \u2013 were safe.<\/p>\n

Though relieved to find a Facebook post assuring him they were both out of harm\u2019s way, he could not forget the video footage he had witnessed on CNN, including the images of people running to one another\u2019s aid in the moments immediately following the explosions. Later that night, he found himself back online, reading through the many messages posted in the aftermath by his other friends, all expressing hope, solidarity, and support for the city of Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, what people need to do is spread the love and spread the hope, because that\u2019s the only thing that can fight hate,\u201d says Dodd, a native of Putnam, Conn. \u201cWe’ve got to do something positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he went to bed, Dodd knew that, first thing in the morning, he would find a way to help.<\/p>\n

Early Tuesday, he sat down with two friends \u2013 Ben Smith \u201915 (CLAS) and Justis Lopez \u201914 (ED) \u2013 to come up with a plan. The three students, who had become friends through their involvement in UConn\u2019s Leadership Learning Community, decided to launch an effort they have named \u201cUConn for Boston: Thanking Heroes.\u201d With the help of the University\u2019s Office of Leadership Programs, they are setting out to collect as many personal messages of hope, gratitude, and support as possible to share with the Boston tragedy\u2019s first responders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we try to do something tangible that will make a difference for people instead of Facebook messages they may never see in their life?\u201d Dodd says. \u201cOur main focus is to let the people up in Boston know that we have all seen their courageous actions, the heroic things they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

At month\u2019s end, the three students will gather every message received, and together will drive them up to Boston to deliver them personally at City Hall, which will assist in distributing the messages to the police officers, emergency medical personnel, and many others who responded in the wake of the attack.<\/p>\n

\u2018We’ve got to do something positive\u2019
\n<\/b>On Monday, April 22, and Monday, April 29, Dodd, Smith, and Lopez, along with other UConn students and staff, will be stationed throughout the day at a table in the main walkway of the Student Union on the Storrs campus, inviting anyone to stop by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to write a personal message for the people of Boston. \u201cYou can write longer letters, or literally just write something simple that says, \u2018UConn loves Boston\u2019 or \u2018UConn is here for Boston,\u2019 and sign your name. Just making it personal is what matters,\u201d Dodd says.<\/p>\n

Their effort is not limited to the University community. UConn for Boston invites anyone who would like to send a personal message of thanks and support to visit s.uconn.edu\/ufb<\/a>, where online submissions will also be accepted. Numerous student organizations across campus will be hosting collection boxes for messages as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone in college can donate a large sum of money to help,\u201d Dodd says, \u201cso this is one way that people can do something meaningful. Although it might not help with medical funds, the people of Boston will still know that we are thinking about them and that we\u2019re here for them. We want to be able to provide the sense of hope that people really need during a time like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the University community who would like to start a collection for UConn for Boston messages in their residence halls, buildings, or departments are invited to do so; please reach out to Dodd at austin.dodd@uconn.edu<\/a> so that all messages can be gathered at month\u2019s end.\u00a0 For more information about UConn for Boston, visit UConn for Boston\u2019s Facebook event page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three UConn students are collecting personal messages they will take to Boston’s City Hall to those who responded in the wake of Monday’s bombing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":76412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[49],"class_list":["post-76490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-09 08:50:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76490"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77098,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76490\/revisions\/77098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/76412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76490"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=76490"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=76490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}