"About five years ago, I was working with Maryann Drury and we took the university's seniors out into the neighborhoods around the city," said Catherine Baratta, associate professor of social work at CCSU and program coordinator.

"We discovered that the biggest desire in these neighborhoods was the kids wanted to go to college but didn't feel they had the opportunity or that CCSU was for them."

The program, which is held right on the CCSU campus, also allows the children to experience a clean, graffiti-free setting that they may not have as much opportunity to see in some of the neighborhoods, Baratta added.

Throughout the week, the kids have participated in a variety of activities. They have learned about memory and problem solving with Professor James Conway, discovered what it's like to be a teacher with students from the Alpha Upsilon Alpha national honors society and even participated in yoga.

It's not all about education, either. Participants will have the opportunity to catch a Rock Cats game today and will be involved in a family-oriented field day on Friday, complete with an ice cream social and power point presentations the children put together from the week's activities.

The program began as a collaboration with New Britain Weed and Seed. Since that point, it has received support both physically and financially from the city's police department, Human Resource Agency, Family Resources Center, the United State's Attorney's Office, the Connecticut National Guard and TD Banknorth, who donated $5,000 in 2006.

"This is truly a collaborative effort," Baratta said. "Everyone has been actively involved in the program and without all our partners, we would not be able to make this a possibility."