As they have for the past 18 years, students from KSC’s Communicorps class recently tackled design challenges for community organizations in the Monadnock region. At a luncheon in the Mountain View Room on April 28, community members got to see the solutions. Twelve student teams (42 students) created designs for six major projects, including a master plan for the re-use of the current Keene Middle School building, a re-design of the Keene Public Library Annex (Pond Mansion and the Masonic Hall), a design for a new parking garage in downtown Keene, a master plan for Wheelock Park, and a set of design options for Southwestern Community Services (SCS) for the N.G. Gurnsey Building on Dunbar Street in Keene and a transitional housing facility for newly released inmates of Cheshire County House of Corrections.

This program allows the College to share its talent and resources in a way that makes a real and lasting impact on the local community.

More information.

If you’re in the area and looking for a reason to get back on campus while giving back to the community, here’s your chance!

The KSC Thanksgiving Basket Drive is on; it’s the annual push to ask the entire KSC community to help put together baskets for this holiday season. The collection of Thanksgiving Baskets will be on Monday, November 23, in the West Dining Area of the Young Student Center, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

KSC contributions are distributed to families with children under 5 years of age in local communities. Last year, this effort collected a record 158 baskets! As of October 23, local organizations had received over 1,700 requests for Thanksgiving baskets, and that number is expected to increase.

New this year, there will be donation boxes set up in the Gym, Library, Science Center, and Student Center until the day of the drive for gently used winter outerwear and additional last minute food items to be donated to the Community Kitchen.

If you are interested in participating in this event, need more information, suggested menu items, or pledge forms, contact KSC Human Resources at 603-358-2406.

Keene State College and the City of Keene are collaborating with Batchelder Biodiesel Refineries, LLC (BBR) to create the Monadnock Biodiesel Collaborative (MBC), a unique private/public/college sector facility where business, research, education, and community service activities will support the community’s goal of creating sustainable practices to improve public health and environmental quality.

The Keene facility will house a BBR refinery to convert waste grease from across New England into more than 250,000 gallons of biodiesel per year, and will also provide KSC researchers with quality fuel for emissions analysis.

More information.