My name is Brian Vanderheyden and I am the Director, Student Wellness at Iowa State University. Student Wellness is launching this fundraising campaign through the FundISU platform from October 21 through November 15 for our new Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) to help us continue building support services, resources, and programs for students in recovery and seeking recovery.
Check out this recent news story about CRC: https://www.inside.iastate.edu/article/2020/10/22/recovery
About Collegiate Recovery Community
Collegiate Recovery Community is a support-based and student-focused program to provide and connect students in recovery or seeking recovery from issues such as substance use, gambling, gaming, and more to the necessary services, resources, and opportunities to help them thrive at Iowa State University (ISU).
Collegiate Recovery Community programs across the country help students stay in school and maintain their recovery.
- Higher Education institutions across the country began establishing these programs since the early 1970's to support students with tremendous success in supporting students through graduation.
- To date, more than 150 campuses across the country have registered Collegiate Recovery Communities or programs, which now includes Iowa State University!
Financial Contributions
Financial contributions for this campaign will help Student Wellness at Iowa State University continue to build upon the foundation of our Collegiate Recovery Community launched in 2019. Contributions from this year’s campaign will go towards the following:
- Financial support for SMART® Recovery weekly support group on campus in Fall 2020
- Financial support for student social support programming through the recognized recovery student organization in CRC (Rootless).
- Financial support for student academic and wellness support services such as tutoring, wellness coaching, etc.
Why Collegiate Recovery is Essential
As an institution focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, we strive to create environments that support diverse and inclusive communities like students in recovery and seeking recovery.
- Supporting students in recovery is a critical social justice issue and an issue that directly affects retention, student success, and learning.
- In 2019, it is estimated that roughly 840,000 full-time college students will be in recovery.
- Marginalized student populations such as LGBTQIA+ students, students of color, and low-income students experience higher levels of substance use, gambling, and other issues due to discrimination as well as personal and structural barriers to accessing resources and support.
- The college environment can be an abstinence or recovery hostile environment for students, which becomes an issue of educational access for students in recovery. Sense of belonging can be low for students in recovery without a network of support and an environment that supports their recovery and/or sobriety.
- It is important for ISU students to be part of all aspects of college life for their academic and personal development (i.e. residential, academic, and co-curricular). Creating these support systems and substance free spaces as part of the Collegiate Recovery Community facilitates educational access and degree completion for those who need such spaces and systems of support.
- In the U.S., 64% of students who leave college and no longer attend do so for behavioral health-related reasons.
- Students in recovery attending colleges and universities with Collegiate Recovery Community programs
- Have higher GPAs than the general student body
- Exceed retention rates of the general student body by 5%
- Exceed graduation rates of the general student body by 21%
- Have a return to use rate of about 5%
How to get involved and support
Here are some ways you can support and be involved in this campaign
- Consider sharing at least one of Student Wellness' recovery posts from Oct 21 - Nov 15 on your personal social media platforms (follow us @bewellisu on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter). These posts will include a link to donate to our FundISU platform
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bewellisu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bewellisu/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bewellisu
- Consider sharing at least one of Student Wellness' recovery posts from Oct 21 - Nov 15 on your work or organization social media platforms (follow us @bewellisu on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter).
- Add language from this page into a newsletter or email to your colleagues, family, and friends.
- Write a personal post on your social media platform with the link to our FundISU platform: https://fundisu.foundation.iastate.edu/project/19807
- Share information about Collegiate Recovery Community with friends, community members, and alumni who are allies of people in recovery, are in recovery, or have a connection to recovery in their lives. Here is a link to our website: https://www.studentwellness.iastate.edu/collegiate-recovery-community/
Thank you for your support. Please visit our website for more information about CRC: https://www.studentwellness.iastate.edu/collegiate-recovery-community/
If you have any questions or if you would like to get involved, please email collegiaterecovery@iastate.edu
Brian Vanderheyden
he/him/his
Director, Student Wellness
Iowa State University
