Jordan Porco Foundation to honor Rhonda Spaziani of Three Rivers Community College with Janice Fletcher Memorial Award
Carrying-on the legacy of Janice Fletcher
Photo: Rhonda Spaziani
March 8, 2019 | Hartford, CT—The Jordan Porco Foundation will honor Rhonda Spaziani, Instructor, at Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) with the Janice Fletcher Memorial Award. The Janice Fletcher Memorial Award was created in remembrance to recognize a Fresh Check Day coordinator who embodies the same spirit and commitment of Janice Fletcher, the former Director of Counseling at Lasell College who passed away last July.
“I feel that Janice and I are truly kindred spirits in our love of Fresh Check Day and what the Jordan Porco Foundation does for all students. Thank you, in every way. I am touched beyond words. My heartfelt thanks to you and Janice’s family. I will keep fighting the good fight in honor of her memory, to keep our students safe and healthy on campus, and in life,”said Rhonda.
Rhonda is a deserving recipient of this award. She has worked in the community college system for over 20 years in Admissions, Advising, Counseling, Student Life, and Instruction. Rhonda’s favorite event of the year is Fresh Check Day, a program of the Jordan Porco Foundation. TRCC hosted their first Fresh Check Day in 2014—when only ten total schools were participating in Fresh Check Day—and have hosted Fresh Check Day for five consecutive years, with their 6th Fresh Check Day scheduled for September 25, 2019. This event has allowed students to come together to fight for a cause bigger than themselves. The impact that she has made on the Three Rivers Campus is one of inclusion, community, support, and one where mental health matters.
In addition to introducing Fresh Check Day to TRCC as an annual event, she directed the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant, which led Three Rivers to be the first community college in the nation to receive the JedCampus Seal. Rhonda also chairs the collaborative TRCC Mental Health & Wellness & Suicide Prevention Advisory Board and has co-facilitated several Mental Health Awareness Professional Days on Campus. She is a strong advocate for increasing campus holistic wellness initiatives and works tirelessly to decrease the stigma of seeking help.
Rhonda can often be found taking time out of her busy schedule to talk with students in need, offering them life advice and general support.
One student shared, “I can say without a doubt that Rhonda (fondly titled the ‘Great Spaziani’) is my hero. [She] has impacted my life on a thousand different days in a million different ways.”
Rhonda has and continues to do amazing things for mental health and suicide prevention on campus, but her ultimate impact can be seen in the students and those she has touched with her spirit and resiliency, making her a fitting and deserving recipient of the Janice Fletcher Memorial Award.
Remembering Janice Fletcher
Janice Fletcher was the Director of Counseling and dedicated Fresh Check Day coordinator at Lasell College in Newton, MA. Known for her kindness, positive attitude, and nurturing nature, she devoted 25 years to both students and staff of the Lasell community. Sadly, Janice passed away after a courageous battle with cancer on July 6, 2018. Janice spearheaded two successful Fresh Check Days at Lasell College before her illness required her to take leave. In that time, her energy and enthusiasm for life left a mark in the hearts of the Jordan Porco Foundation staff. Janice’s husband, Tom, shared, “Janice loved Lasell’s Fresh Check Day–arguably more than any other single day in the Counseling Center’s calendar. In fact, once she got sick, she and I looked ahead for months in planning her radiation and chemo schedule to make sure that neither treatment would interfere with the April Friday reserved for Fresh Check Day!” The Janice Fletcher Memorial Award was created in remembrance to recognize a Fresh Check Day coordinator who embodies the same spirit and commitment of Janice Fletcher.
About the Jordan Porco Foundation
The Jordan Porco Foundation’s mission is to prevent suicide, promote mental health, and create a message of hope for young adults. They accomplish this by providing engaging and uplifting peer-run programs. Their programs strive to start a conversation about mental health that reduces stigma while encouraging help-seeking and supportive behaviors. The Jordan Porco Foundation is named in memory of the co-founder’s son, Jordan. Jordan died by suicide in 2011 as a college freshman. What started as two grieving parents’ vision, has grown into a nationally respected Foundation that helps tens of thousands of young adults across the country. Learn more at jordanporcofoundation.org.
Contacts
Marisa Giarnella-Porco, Co-Founder & CEO, mgiarnella-porco@jordanporcofoundation.org
Rachel Papke, Communications Manager, rpapke@jordanporcofoundation.org
