Yasmin Ballew’s project builds on her experience as last year’s president of Alpha Phi Omega, Cornell’s largest service organization with more than 200 members. Working with APO’s current executive board, Ballew — a student in the ILR School — is using the Robinson-Appel Award funding to establish a partnership with the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, or GIAC, where APO members will volunteer on a biweekly basis, distributing school supplies and sharing information about the college admissions process, service opportunities and the importance of diversity.

With an increasing number of APO members coming from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds, they have the capacity and desire to serve as mentors, especially for youth who would otherwise not have these supports. Ballew’s goals in establishing the partnership are threefold: to rebuild off-campus partnerships between community members and APO; to address inequitable access to education and service opportunities; and to improve diversity outcomes by addressing root causes.