Providence College Students: Transforming Society

Posted on May 19, 2021

Community service initiatives continue to play vital role in the Providence College experience amid pandemic

Each year, Providence College students volunteer thousands of hours at more than 100 community agencies, schools, and other non-profit sites in Greater Providence. This academic year, however, was unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many of these in-person service activities to be cancelled, postponed or altered due to travel limitations as well as gathering restrictions. Our program coordinators and volunteers did, however, rise to the challenge and developed creative and meaningful ways to serve the community safely. Volunteer service is provided through the Office of the Chaplain/Campus Ministry, the Office of Student Affairs, the Feinstein Institute for Public Service, the Office of Public Affairs, Government and Community Relations, the Student Athlete Advisory Council, and many of the College’s student clubs, organizations, and service learning classes.

FriarServe is a service initiative now in its fourth year. It has two major components. In 2017, PC committed a $100,000 gift to Diocesan Catholic Schools in celebration of the College’s Centennial and in support of Catholic education in RI. The College’s gift was made through the Diocesan Catholic School Office (CSO) in equal sums for four years. The money is used for scholarships given to students attending Catholic elementary and secondary schools via the CSO’s Anchor of Hope Fund, a diocesan financial assistance fund that helps financially strapped families secure a Catholic school education for their children. A portion of the funds are set aside specifically for five Providence area Catholic Pre-K – 8 schools: Bishop McVinney School (South Providence), Blessed Sacrament School (Mt. Pleasant), St. Augustine School (also Mt. Pleasant), St. Pius V School (Elmhurst) and St. Thomas Regional School (Fruit Hill).

Perhaps the most important aspect of FriarServe is its community service component. PC students, staff and faculty are invited to volunteer their time to each of the five above-mentioned schools during the academic year. Activities in the first year of the initiative included: after-school art programs; tutoring; after-school care; drama club; homework help; and field day assistance. Additionally, elementary school teachers were offered the chance to participate in two professional development workshops run by PC faculty and staff on campus. Not all schools have the same programs, but all have more than one. FriarServe continued its dedicated service to several Catholic schools in Providence in a virtual manner this academic year, providing book club, dance, and civic engagement programming as well as reading times via Zoom to name a few.

The total number of volunteers for the fourth year of FriarServe are as follows:

Matched Volunteers: 98 (37 in 2020 Fall semester; 61 in 2021 Spring semester); some volunteers were assigned to two or more opportunities within one semester.

Among the notable service projects are the following programs that included direct collaboration with the City of Providence:

In its ninth year, the FaithWorks pre-orientation service immersion program was able to adapt due to Covid and go virtual in August. More than 65 PC first-year students participated in the program, led by upperclassmen peers. Sponsored by Campus Ministry, FaithWorks enables new PC students to build community with their peers, perform service work for vulnerable populations in Providence, and reflect on the significance of this work for their own lives. The participants were able to do virtual service with sites in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including My Brother’s Keeper; Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School, St. Patrick’s Academy and Church; St. Pius V School and Church; McAuley Ministries and Habitat for Humanity Providence.

Established in 1993, the Feinstein Institute for Public Service at Providence College was created to support the major and minor in Public and Community Service Studies. After two decades, the Institute turned its efforts to campus-community partnerships aimed at addressing the larger questions underlying our public and community service systems. Over the past two years, the Institute has worked with campus and community partners to focus its efforts around questions of racial and economic justice, particularly for youth and families, both locally and globally. To date, the Institute has 37 community partners.

The Feinstein Institute’s Community Work Study Program partnered with 31 schools and non-profits within the Providence area. Seventy students participated in the program and used their federal work study award to work with our partners in the local community as an after school tutor, administrative assistant, or delivering furniture. The students have worked over 7,300 hours within the community over the past year and gained professional experience working in non-profits and schools.

The Feinstein Institute’s Feinstein Community Fellows Program brings together undergraduate students and community partners who share the Feinstein Institute’s commitment to overcoming racial inequity, local and global poverty, and barriers to young people’s capacity to achieve their aspirations. Now in its second year, the program matched 21 PC students with eleven different community organizations. The Fellows were given their own project responsibilities that ranged from working directly with youth on college applications, SAT prep, and scholarship support through developing a social media communication plan. All of the Fellows participated in bi-weekly meetings to reflect on their service and examine social justice, non-profits, power and privilege. Together, they completed over 3,500 hours of service throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

Athletics:

Nearly every PC student-athlete, representing 19 varsity sports, participated in a range of community service projects throughout the academic year. There were 340 participants out in the community representing the Friars. In total, they raised $51,685 for various charitable organizations for 2020-21. Student-athletes understand giving back to the surrounding community, and are committed to demonstrating the Athletic Department’s core values: Valiance, Excellence, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Service (VERITAS).

Each year, students work with local elementary schools through their participation in the annual Reading Week event. Twenty-five student-athletes read to the students and answered questions about attending college, reaching out to hundreds of youths. Another major initiative was a partnership with the The DaVinci Center and the Adopt-a-Family Project, which afforded over 350 Christmas gifts to 131 children and 38 families.

The swimming and diving team raised more than $26,000 for Swim Across America’s nationwide virtual swim event this year to benefit cancer research.

Vs. Cancer Fundraiser, a virtual 5K & Fundraiser involving the following teams: Women’s Soccer ($8,318 raised), Lacrosse ($12,645), Field Hockey ($2,687), Softball ($1083), Volleyball ($822).

Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) helped raise nearly $2,500 and sent 25 Easter Baskets with gift cards in them to the children currently in the Izzy’s room for cancer patients at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

250 letters were sent to the RI Veterans Home by SAAC in the Fall semester to offer love and gratitude during the pandemic.

SAAC spearheaded a Thanksgiving Food pantry drive and donated over 1,000 food items to St. Thomas Catholic Church in North Providence.

SAAC spearheaded a Valentine’s Day initiative and sent over 125 virtual cards to both Boston Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

The PC community also supported numerous charitable organizations:

The School of Continuing Education (SCE) and the Eta Lambda chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society for Adults in Continuing Education pivoted to a grocery store gift card donation for the 2020 Thanksgiving Food Drive. The gift cards donated to D.A.R.E (Direct Action for Rights and Equality) allowed the organization to purchase Thanksgiving meal items for approximately 20 local families.
The School of Continuing Education conducted a pandemic friendly version of their “Adopt-a-Family” Christmas drive. People shopped safely, mostly online, and were able to purchase gifts and necessities requested by two families referred to SCE by the Smith Hill Community Development Center (Smith Hill CDC).
For the fifth year in a row, the President’s Standing Committee on Service (“the Service Board”) coordinated a Thanksgiving Drive, in partnership with the Smith Hill CDC and Mary House, the social ministry of St. Patrick’s Parish in Providence. The Board raised over $3,000 in monetary donations, 40 turkeys, and over 2,000 canned goods and non-perishable food items. The Thanksgiving Drive was able to provide 500 adults and 380 children with a free Thanksgiving meal.

Thanks to the generosity of the Friar Family (students, faculty, alumni, and families), the Office of Campus Ministry collected over 300 gifts and $1000.000 worth of gift cards for children at the Smith Hill Early Childhood Development Center and San Miguel School. Additionally, supplies for over 150 Homeless Care Kits were also donated and assembled in February by students. These care kits were then given to Mary House, a wellness center out of St. Patrick’s Church in the Smith Hill neighborhood.

Student Leaders of Elderly Outreach and Children’s Outreach, through the Office of Catholic Ministry, thought outside of the box this year after Covid-19 restrictions kept them from being able to serve in person. Gathering Friar peers, Children’s and Elderly outreach assembled over 150 Easter Baskets that were then donated to the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Pawtucket and Smith Hill Early Childhood Development Center.