A day when the University -- faculty, students, administrators,
staff, and alumni volunteer in groups at sites in the community
embodying the University core value of service. All five campuses,
Queens, Staten Island, Oakdale, Manhattan and Rome participate as
well as some alumni chapters. The first annual service day took
place in 2002.
When
The fourth Saturday in September was chosen to coincide with the
feast of St. Vincent de Paul (September 27) and the beginning of
the Academic Year. The day begins at about 8:30 a.m. and
volunteers are working until late afternoon.
Where
St. John’s volunteers will be working at community based sites at
over 50 locations on or in close proximity to one of the five
Campuses of St. John’s University in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau,
Suffolk, Manhattan and Staten Island, (Rome Campus also
participates).
How
Motivated by the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, teams of students,
faculty, administrators and alumni (over 800 volunteers world-wide,
2005) will plant gardens, clean homes, paint classroom, visit sick
children, recreate with well children, and the elderly, bring
sandwiches to the hungry-homeless. Our volunteers will be
“making a difference” at churches, schools, parks, nursing homes,
hospitals, prisons and “on the streets.” The poor, the
elderly, children and the sick are included in our
efforts.
Who
Organized by the Service Opportunity Council of the University
Vincentian Mission Council. These groups report to the Rev. Michael J.
Carroll, C.M., Executive Vice President for Mission and Branch
Campuses. The general coordinator, of the day is Sue Scacalossi,
Program Coordinator, Office of the Executive Vice President for
Mission (718) 990-3004 or scacalos@stjohns.edu. For
team leader info or site coordination contact Angela Seegel at seegela@stjohns.edu or (718)
990-2680.
Agenda for the Day
Teams are organized by Campus. All teams are requested to meet
on campus. Team Leaders will check-in 8:45 to 9 a.m. Team
members’ will check-in from 9 to 9:30 a.m. This gathering
will include organizing car-pools, donning tee shirts, sharing
prayer and a team picture. The teams will depart for the work
sites at about 10 a.m. Sites are expecting volunteers between
10:30-11 a.m. Several projects will not organize on campus due
to requests for a specific time frame for the project, i.e. nursing
homes prefer afternoon visits, and several projects involve evening
work. Work will continue until project is finished (usually
about 3-4 hours). At the completion of the day, team leaders
will be asked to reflect with the team members on the day and
complete the team evaluation form. All teams will disperse from the
sites at the end of a very productive day.