Lamont Highlights Call For Volunteers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday will reiterated his call to Connecticut residents to volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the governor rolled out his "Step Up Connecticut" campaign, urging people to volunteer in schools, COVID testing sites, and health care centers as many of those locations become strained for staff during the pandemic.

Lamont said the state is looking for hundreds, maybe even thousands of people to help, based on their qualifications.

"Step Up Connecticut, as you know, is a way young people, or all people can get involved," Lamont said. He said the state needs additional help with testing and track and trace, but wanted to focus on the need for educational support at today's news conference.

"I absolutely believe that there are silver linings in COVID and one of them is all of the people coming forward to volunteer to work with our students in the schools," said Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents."

In Cheshire, the school district has connected more than 30 recent graduates with classrooms to be able to substitute and contribute to learning efforts.

"There are so many talented recent high school graduates out there who have a lot to offer, particularly for those that are home from college or have breaks in their schedule, to be able to contribute, and the governor's Step Up initiative is the perfect opportunity and call to action for those kids in Cheshire and for the young adults across Connecticut," said Jeffrey Solan, superintendent of schools for Cheshire Public Schools.