Recent Events
-
September 29, 2012 - 11th Annual University Service Day
- May 16, 2012 - VMC Heritage Trip, Germantown, PA
- April 18, 2012 - Lunch & Learn: The Vincentian Legacy
Continues: Blessed Rosalie Rendu, D.C. & Blessed Frederic
Ozanam. Presentation by Fr. Robert Maloney, C.M.
- April 3, 2012 -
Easter Basket Project
- March 13,
2012 - Vincentian Center for Church & Society, Lunch
& Learn Series: St. Louise & the Human Rights
Tradition.
- February 10, 2012 - Community Service: Midnight Run
- December 14, 2012 - Lunch & Learn: Understanding
Poverty from the Inside Out. Presentation by Dale
Williams.
- December
2012 - Community Service: St. John's Bread & Life Soup
Kitchen's Sponsor A Family.
- November 19, 2012 - Community Service: St. John's Bread &
Life Soup Kitchen
- September 30,
2011 - Special Blessing of the VMC and Lunch & Learn:
Living the Vincentian Mission. Presentation by Fr. Robert Maloney,
C.M.
- September 24,
2011 - 10th Annual University Service Day
- September 16, 2011 -
Opening Session and Welcome Dinner for VMC Cohort 5
All Events
Friday, January 18,
2013: This month
twenty-six employees became the fifth cohort to earn their
Vincentian Mission Certificate (VMC), since the program began in
January 2007. The cohort represented the Staten Island Campus
with 5 graduates and the Queens campus with 21 graduates, all of
whom came from 10 different departments of the
University. The employees
received their certificates in the D'Angelo Center Ball Room.
To view a video presentation on the 5th VMC cohort's 16 month
journey please
click this link.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012: Past and current
members of the Vincentian Mission Certificate (VMC) Program
recently participated in a day long heritage trip to Germantown,
PA. The trip included visits to four local organizations that serve
the poor, disenfranchised and marginalized in Germantown (Face to
Face, Inn Dwelling, My Place Germantown and DePaul House).
Representatives from each of the local outreach programs shared
insights into their programs and their connection to the Vincentian
Mission. Additionally, the group toured historic Vincentian
heritage sites in Germantown, including the Miraculous Medal
Shrine, a Catholic landmark and place of pilgrimage visited by
thousands of people every year, and St. Vincent's Church. Before
returning to New York, the VMC participants had the unique
opportunity to have dinner at The Mate's Inn in Trenton, NJ. The
facility is a culinary arts vocational program for incarcerated
indivduals, run by the Education Department of the Garden State
Correctional Facility, and the inmates enrolled in the program
prepared a delicious meal that was enjoyed by the participants of
the VMC Heritage Trip.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012:
Members of the present cohort of the Vincentian Mission Certificate
(VMC) Program and VMC alumni attended a Lunch and Learn lecture by
Fr. Robert Maloney, C.M., St. John's University's Vincentian Chair
of Social Justice. Fr. Maloney examined the roles of Blessed
Rosalie Rendu, D.C. and Blessed Frederic Ozanam, and their
connection to service and scholarship at St. John's University
today. The attendees were able to gain a deeper understanding of
the expansion of the Vincentian family through the work of these
two remarkable individuals, as Fr. Maloney identified the various
areas through which the legacies of Rosalie Rendu and Frederick
Ozanam serve as an inspiration for us today.
Thursday, April 5,
2012: On Holy Thursday, VMC 5 participants
Roberto Alas, Mary Cascio, Mirian Cepeda, Lucrezia Gavin, Diana
Lopez, Sunita Makhijani, Patty Voisin, VMC alumni Mark Andrews (VMC
3), Laura Andrews and Giselle Scianablo volunteered at the Ozanam
Nursing Home in Queens, NY. The volunteers visited the residents at
the nursing home, assisted with the day's programs and activities,
and helped any residents that needed assistance with going to the
chapel for the Holy Thursday mass that was celebrated later in the
afternoon.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012: Members of VMC
Cohort 5 participated in Providence House’s annual “Easter Basket
Project,” which provides Easter baskets for mothers and children
residing at the Providence House in Brooklyn, NY and MOMMAS House
in Wantagh, NY. Both not-for-profit organizations assist women who
are homeless or were formerly incarcerated with finding permanent
housing, securing employment, completing their education, and
providing them with daycare and health services. Adriana Dino (VMC
5), Shu Zhen Chen (VMC 5) and Althea Brown (VMC 4) coordinated the
efforts to collect items for the Easter basket project - a
tradition started by another VMC alumni, Rino Grzinic (VMC 3). In
addition to delicious Easter candy, donations of personal care
items, linens, books, school supplies and baby items were packed
into festive Easter tote bags for approximately 80 mothers, infants
and toddlers staying at the two residences. View the picture
gallery.
Visit Providence House
and MOMMAS House's
websites for more information.
Thursday, March 15, 2012: Members of the VMC
program, including Clare Byrne (VMC 3), Catharine Giancatarino (VMC
3), Rino Grzinic (VMC 3), Frank Jerome (VMC 5), Dean Robert
Mangione (VMC 2), Eric Reinecker (VMC 2), and Louis Saavedra (VMC
2) participated in the annual St. Baldrick’s/Locks of Love
event at St. John’s University. Volunteers could participate in one
of two ways to help support children with cancer – either shaving
their heads as part of a fundraising effort, or donating their hair
to help make wigs for childhood cancer patients who have lost their
natural hair.
Read the full story here. View the Photo Gallery of the
current and past VMC members who participated this year.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012: Past and current
members of the VMC program attended the Lunch & Learn
Series: St. Louise & the Human Rights
Tradition, which was hosted by the Vincentian Center for
Church & Society. Sr. Margaret John Kelly, D.C. discussed the
significant contributions of St. Louise de Marillac in the area of
human rights, particularly her efforts to uphold the rights of the
abandoned infants, galley slaves, and the poor in 16th century
France. View the photo
gallery.
Friday, March 2, 2012: VMC 5 members Adriana
Dino, Patricia Minton, Lucrezia Gavin and Letitia Davis joined VMC
alumnae Natalie Bongiorno (VMC 2) preparing and serving lunch to
the guests of the St. John’s Bread & Life Soup Kitchen in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Friday, February 10,
2012: Inspired by the December presentation by Dale
Williams, Executive Director of the Midnight Run Inc., eleven
members of the VMC 5 cohort joined VMC alumnae Althea Brown as part
of an adventurous Midnight Run into Manhattan. VMC 5 volunteers
included Jesse Adamo-Grimes, Roberto Alas, Dominic Baccala, Anne
Cordato, Robert Cote, Letitia Davis, Adriana Dino, Frank Jerome, LJ
Holmgren, Pat Minton, and Sara Purcell. The group, which also
included other members of the St. John’s community, prepared
sandwich bags on the Queens campus, then headed to Manhattan to
distribute to over hundred homeless individuals, along with coffee,
warm clothing and toiletries.
Friday, February 3, 2012: Representing VMC 5,
Sunita Makhijani and Fr. John Kettelberger, C.M. helped to stock
the pantry as they volunteered for this weekly service opportunity
at the St. John’s Bread & Life Soup Kitchen in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Friday, January 27, 2012: VMC 5 members LJ
Holmgren and Sunita Makhijani were in for a surprise when
they volunteered for this service opportunity at the St. John’s
Bread & Life Soup Kitchen in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Although a fire alarm and some rain may have interrupted their
preparation in the food pantry and kitchen, it was not enough to
get in the way of the Bread and Life clients receiving lunch that
day!
Thursday, January 26, 2012: VMC 5 members
Dorothy Bukay, Robert Cote, LJ Holmgren, Michelle Kyriakides,
Jennifer Miranda and Charissa Townsend prepared and served a home
cooked Mexican dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde
Park, NY, a “home away from home” for families of children
receiving care at the Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center. View the photo
gallery.
December 2011 Sponsor a
Family Program: Several current and alumni VMC members
participated in the Sponsor a Family Program at the St. John’s
Bread and Life Soup Kitchen in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Volunteers serve over 2,000 families and bring warm winter gear to
over 1,000 individuals through this annual program. See
photos and a video clip here
Monday, December 19,
2011: Eight members of the VMC 5 cohort participated in a
Midnight Run into Manhattan. Roberto Alas, Rob Cote, Letitia
Davis, Frank Jerome, Victoria Laemmel, Diana Lopez, Nunzia Manuli,
and Pat Minton prepared on the Queens campus, and distributed food,
coffee, clothing and toiletries to homeless individuals throughout
Manhattan that evening.
Wednesday, December 14,
2011: Current and former members of the VMC program
attended the Lunch & Learn Series: Understanding
Homelessness, A Personal Journey, hosted by the Office
of the University Mission. The guest speaker, Dale Williams,
Executive Director for Midnight Run Inc., talked about his
experiences as a formerly homeless individual in New York City from
1987 till 1990. In 1991, Mr. Williams became involved in Midnight
Run, and has been helping manage the organization since then. He is
also currently the liason for St. John's University. The talk was
followed by a Q&A session with members of the audience who
asked questions about homelessness, Mr. Williams' experiences, and
opportunities to assist with the organization's efforts. For more
information about Midnight Run Inc., visit their website. To
learn more about homelessness, view these basic
facts about homelessness in New York City.
Wednesday, December 7,
2011: VMC 5 members Shu Zhen Chen, Rob Cote, LJ Holmgren,
Victoria Laemmel, Jennifer Miranda-Velazquez, Nick Saturno, and
Patty Voisin joined VMC Alumnae Althea Brown (VMC 4) in the first
Midnight Run offered to the current VMC cohort. Volunteers
prepared sandwiches on the Queens campus, and distributed food,
clothing and toiletries to homeless individuals throughout
Manhattan that chilly, rainy evening.
Monday, December 5,
2011: VMC 5 members Mary Cascio, Mirian Cepeda, Shu Zhen
Chen, Adriana Dino, Nunzia Manuli, and Pat Minton prepared, served
and shared a home cooked dinner with the guests staying at St.
Nick’s Men’s Shelter for the homeless.
Tuesday, November 22,
2011: VMC 5 participants Roberto Alas, Frank Jerome,
Victoria Laemmel, Sunita Makhijani, and Jennifer Miranda-Velazquez
prepared and served a home cooked dinner to the guests staying at
St. Nick’s Men’s Shelter for the homeless.
Saturday, November 19,
2011: VMC 5 member Patty Voisin joined VMC alumni Linda
Miller (VMC 3), Louis Saavedra (VMC 2), Kate Giancatarino (VMC 3)
and several others in preparing, packaging and distributing
Thanksgiving meals and supplies for clients of the St. John’s Bread
and Life Soup Kitchen.
Tuesday, November 1,
2011: VMC 5 members Paolo Tagatac, Krista Walker and
Charissa Townsend joined VMC alumni Kathy Meehan (VMC 1), Frank
LeVeness (VMC 1) and Stephen Rzonca (VMC 2) in accompanying 26
Ozanam Scholar undergraduate students on a Vincentian Heritage Trip
to Germantown, Pennsylvania. Read the full
story.
Friday, October 21,
2011: VMC 5 members Roberto Alas, Dorothy Bukay, Adriana
Dino, Shu Zhen Chen, Frank Jerome, Sunita Makhijani and Pat Minton
volunteered at the St. John’s Bread & Life Soup Kitchen in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, assisting in the food pantry and
sorting toys to be distributed to area children.
Thursday, October 13,
2011: In an effort to raise awareness about breast
cancer on Campus, Campus Ministry in conjunction with Students for
Global Justice coordinated the annual "Mens High Heel-a-Thon"
fundraiser. Women's heels were donated by students and
university employees for this walk-a-thon, and the male
participants had to complete laps around the Great Lawn wearing the
high heels. VMC 5 member, Paolo Tagatac, participated in this
year's walk-a-thon and emerged as the victor in the contest by
completing the most laps. View the photo
gallery.
Friday, September 30,
2011: Following a week of events and programs
celebrating the 18th annual St. John’s University
Founder’s Week, the Vincentian Mission Certification (VMC) Lunch
and Learn Series featured the program, The Spirituality of St.
Vincent de Paul, on Friday, September 30, 2011. The program
was presented by Rev. Robert P. Maloney, C.M., St. John’s
University Vincentian Chair for Social Justice, and was attended by
current VMC members and VMC Alumni.
View the picture gallery. Read the full
story.
Saturday, September 29, 2012: VMC 5 members
joined the university community in serving in the 11th annual
University Service Day. The volunteers served in their
respective teams at a number of sites throughout the five boroughs
of New York City, serving meals, visiting nursing homes, and
volunteering with non-profit organizations.
Read the full story and
view the picture gallery from this year's Service Day.
Saturday, September 24,
2011: VMC 5 members and VMC alumni participated in
the 10th annual University Service Day by serving those
in need at a number of sites throughout New York City, including
local soup kitchens, nursing homes, schools and non-profit
organizations.
Read the full story.
Friday, September 16,
2011: T he fifth cohort of the Vincentian Mission
Certificate (VMC) Program commenced their sixteen-month journey
with the VMC Opening Session and Welcome Dinner, on
September 16, 2011. Lucy Pesce, Executive Director for
Mission, assisted Fr. Kettelberger in helping the cohort u
nderstand the expectations and resources available to them as they
journey together through the VMC program. The highlight of
the evening followed the orientation session, when several VMC
Alumni from the previous four cohorts joined the newest members for
a celebration dinner. Read the full story.