SUNY Geneseo has been recognized at the state and federal levels for its involvement with a humanitarian group that counts a number of UUP members among its volunteers.

The group, known as “Livingston CARES” (Community Action Relief Efforts), is a collaborative effort by representatives of SUNY Geneseo; Livingston County; the town and village of Geneseo; and local clergy and churches. More than a dozen UUP members from Geneseo, including Tom Matthews and Wes Kennison, have joined dozens of Geneseo students on several trips to Mississippi for relief and recovery efforts, and the group plans several more trips this year. Matthews is the group’s chair.

In October, SUNY Geneseo was one of nine colleges and universities from around the country to receive the federal Katrina Compassion Award, and the college was also named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. In November, SUNY awarded its Outstanding Student Affairs Program in Leadership Development to the GOLD (Geneseo’s Organizations for Leadership Development) Leadership Certificate Program at Geneseo. Matthews is the GOLD director on the campus, as well as the director of leadership education, development and training at Geneseo.

“The whole concept of service is part of the State University of New York, and this embodies that service we all talk about, at SUNY and in the union,” Matthews said.

Livingston CARES has applied for nonprofit status, and expects to continue its mission regionally and in other states on future disasters. The group also assisted flood-ravaged areas around Binghamton last year, Matthews said.

— Darryl McGrath