HCC and community leaders pose for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening and relocation of the Thrive Center and Food Pantry. (left to right: HCC student Naylani Collazo, Gary Rome, HCC President George Timmons, student Alicia Beaton, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Amanda Sbriscia and Thrive Center Coordinator Ben Ostiguy.)
Photo credit: Chris Yurko, HCC.
HOLYOKE — The relocation and expansion of HCC’s Thrive Center and Food Pantry was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 10 with school and community leaders in attendance.
The Thrive Center’s new space is located on the second floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development on the main HCC campus.
The mission of the Thrive Center, formerly known as the Thrive Student Resource Center, is to help students address nonacademic issues that could interfere with their studies, such as food and housing insecurity. Thrive works with students struggling to find affordable health insurance, transportation and childcare, and can help them manage their budgets and resolve credit and legal entanglements.
The center also manages the HCC Food Pantry, which is located next door to the Thrive Center’s new office. The new dedicated space is four times larger than the size of the old food pantry.
“What I always tell folks is that our first impression is our first intervention, so the first impression we make with students is pretty critical,” said Ben Ostiguy, coordinator of the Thrive Center and Food Pantry. “I think having a fresh space with updated equipment and designs sends the right message to the students. It shows that the campus cares, that this is a priority and that we are prepared to help them in meaningful ways.”
Ostiguy said that with high levels of food insecurity across the state, especially in public higher education and that HCC was no exception. He added the new center and food pantry is an expansion at the right time in combating issues of food insecurity.
HCC President George Timmons told Reminder Publishing seeing the space for the reopening was “amazing” to him as it was the direct result of the school responding to concerns of food insecurity.
“I really try to always bring to the forefront our values as well as our mission, and it’s really focused on around — beyond being an institution of excellence — is being known for removing barriers to success, and one of the barriers that we know is housing and food insecurity,” Timmons said. “So, to be able to allow students a place where they can feel comfortable and be able to get the things that they need with a sense of pride and dignity is really important to us.”
Timmons added that is why he stays committed to serving the whole student and their family and that he and his team try to stay proactive on these types of issues for that exact reason.
“We try to walk the walk and talk the talk, and this is just another great example of us honoring our vision and living up to our values,” Timmons said.
Ostiguy added having the support of Timmons as a leader so focused on bridging gaps for students made the effort of the expansion of the Thrive Center and food pantry an easy decision for all parties.
“It’s indispensable to have leadership that will listen, that will seek to understand the experiences of students and wants to help create the programs and resources they need to persist, to graduate, to succeed toward their career and life goals,” Ostiguy said.
Vice President of Institutional Advancement Amanda Sbriscia credited the existence of the Thrive Center and food pantry at HCC to the generosity of the community and care for the student population.
“This is a program that quite literally keeps students on a path to achieving their dreams of a college education, and now it’s larger and more accessible – located just down the hallway from our campus center, the hub of student activity,” Sbriscia said.
