SJU NAMED TO PRESIDENT’S HONOR ROLL FOR SERVICE
CAMPUS OFFERS WORDS OF INSPIRATION TO WOUNDED TROOPS The entire Saint Joseph’s community took part in the Words of Inspiration Campaign to cheer and inspire wounded U.S. troops and their support staff during the holiday season. Hundreds of quotations, maxims and poems, together with short descriptions or explanations, were collected and handwritten by volunteers, ensuring a personal touch. The completed Words of Inspiration were delivered to service members recovering from injuries at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and combat support hospitals in Afghanistan.
For the third straight year, Saint Joseph’s University has been named a member of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Placement on the list is the highest honor a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. “The community at Saint Joseph’s is deeply committed to service,” said Tom Sheibley, director of campus ministry. “From weekly community outreach down the street to yearly immersion programs across the country, our students, faculty and staff connect with the Jesuit mission in a unique way. Our inclusion on this honor roll reflects the intense passion that everyone in the University community has for service.” The University has been recognized in each of the three years that the honor roll has been announced. Student participation in service activities, the availability of service-learning courses, and the scope and innovation of service projects were all considered when selecting schools for the list. The honor roll is also sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the USA Freedom Corps and the President’s Council on Service and Civic Population. More information and a full list of schools that were named are available at www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll. The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that strives to improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.
STUDENTS AND ALUMNI CONTINUE TO HELP IN KATRINA RECOVERY For the third time in four years, a group of students and alumni traveled to the Gulf Coast in January to boost recovery efforts in the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sixteen students and two alumni made the journey in what has become a multi-year rebuilding venture. They visited St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in New Orleans, where they served on the first service trip in 2006, and worked in Bayou La Batre with the Bayou Recovery Project. The participants cleaned debris and helped with construction at six sites in the two cities. “This trip is so important to us, because no matter how much time passes, so many areas in the Gulf Coast look like Katrina happened 10 days ago,” said Jenna Ciancia (Pennsville, N.J.), a senior education major and trip leader. “A lot of progress has been made in Bayou La Batre in the past year, but we toured some areas in New Orleans that have a long way to go, and we wanted to help in any way that we could.”
Working together at Bayou La Batre are (clockwise from left): James Duffy ’10, Sarah Hegarty ’10, Kevin Gainey ’11, a local resident and Jenna Ciancia ’10.
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