Community Outreach
From time to time, this segment will highlight activities that demonstrate the involvement of the UIW community in living the Mission. Examples will also be found in the Mission Newsletter.
Students and faculty are engaged in numerous outreach programs to the underserved of the city. Some examples follow:
Meet the Mission : an initiative begun by Dr. Rodinsky and several faculty members to put the mission into action in the community. Organized teams of students go with faculty to sites such as SAMM Ministries, The Food Bank, Travis Park Methodist Church which has a program for the homeless, Salvation Army and Visitation House for homeless and abused women and children.
Golden Harvest : an initiative of the SGA. The students go out into the neighborhoods collecting canned goods for a variety of agencies needing food for the hungry.
Angel Tree : Campus Ministry sponsors Angel Tree at Christmas to receive gifts for children who otherwise may not have a gift during this season. Sometimes the recipients are children of employees who are needy. Seton Home is another beneficiary.
USO Care Packs : Students collect appropriate goods for military oversees.
Saint Vincent de Paul Society : Once a week, business students and faculty serve breakfast to the homeless and spend some time in reflection on how this type of service changes their outlook on life.
Catholic Worker House: The Sunday Mass congregation has undertaken to send a stipulated amount each month to support Catholic Worker House. Twice monthly, volunteers take a meal (prepared and donated by Sodexho Food Services) to the CWH and eat with the families and volunteers of the CWH.
Some of the class related service learning projects include:
St. Philip of Jesus Parish Health Clinic underwritten by grants received by the School of Nursing and staffed by nursing faculty and students.
Presa Center : The Psychology Department offer tutoring and various other types of services to this low income center.
Alternate Spring Break: Each spring, Campus Ministry organizes a trip to Mexico or Peru so that students can have a brief taste of real poverty and can spend time reflecting on how they can make a difference in lives suffering so much injustice.
Reach Out Africa: Faculty from the School of Education and the School of Nursing travel to Zambia and Tanzania to conduct research and offer workshops on grief and loss, economic development, early childhood education, and classroom management (www.womensglobalconnection.org ).
Photos of Mongu, Zambia-taken by Dr. S. Bin Kong
