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Back to News College of Mount Saint Vincent Students Devote Winter and Spring Breaks to Volunteering in Distressed Areas

College of Mount Saint Vincent Students Devote Winter and Spring Breaks to Volunteering in Distressed Areas

4/9/2015

Riverdale, N.Y. – Mount Saint Vincent students annually volunteer more than 10,000 hours of service to those in need. By partnering with more than 50 organizations, student volunteers—known on campus as Leaders in Service—frequently respond to the needs of youth, people suffering from illness and disability, the homeless and disenfranchised, the elderly, and the poor.

“Our students act on their belief in a better world,” said Matthew Shields, Director of Campus Ministry. “By fostering an understanding of our common humanity, a commitment to human dignity, and a full appreciation of our obligations to each other, the Mount seeks the development of the whole person.”

Mount students volunteer year-round, and during College breaks and between semesters, these Leaders in Service have additional outreach opportunities on campus, stateside, and abroad.

During spring break in late March, working with the theme “Charity Begins at Home,” more than 30 Mount students served on mission and ministry trips with six organizations throughout New York City, including Midnight Run, Mexican American Students’ Alliance (MASA), POTS soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Dance for PD, and Life Experience and Faith Sharing Association (LEFSA).

Another group of students traveled to Kentucky during spring break to volunteer with the Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) WorkFest. Owen Smith ’18, Sirinda Arturi ’18, Emilie Swartvagher ’18, Mikey Stephens-Emerson ’18, Sheila Buenaseda ’15, Brandon Rutishauser ’15, Jaymee Wilson ’15, Steven Quinones ’15, and Jon Salamak, Graduate Assistant for the Office of Student Activities, Leadership, and Commuter Life, worked in teams to repair substandard housing and build new homes for low-income families. The students, accompanied by Kathryn O’Loughlin, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, were able to interact with the homeowners and families struggling with poverty, further emphasizing the importance of service-learning, community, and spirituality. “They clearly understood they were not only repairing homes, but also rebuilding a community,” said Ms. O’Loughlin.

Service in NO 2015
Olivia O’Neill ’18 and Nephthalie Charlestin ’16 volunteering with the St. Bernard Project in Louisiana

Over winter break, two Leaders in Service groups engaged in volunteering opportunities offered by the Sisters of Charity (SC) of New York, the religious order that founded the College in 1847. Some volunteers repaired homes still damaged by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, while others worked in community health in rural areas of Guatemala. On both trips, the students—again joined by Ms. O’Loughlin—benefited from the service while also reflecting on the work and mission of the Sisters of Charity in the spirit of Vincent de Paul and Elizabeth Ann Seton.

“The students learned a great deal about the history of the Sisters and the work that they do,” said Ms. O’Loughlin. “They were able to see firsthand the impact that the Sisters of Charity have made, not just on New York City, or in the U.S., but internationally as well.”

In early January, over 120 volunteers traveled to locations within the St. Bernard Parish in Southeast Louisiana. Each of SC’s 12 orders—which together comprise the Federation—sent female college students on the service trip. Mount students Nephthalie Charlestin ’16 and Olivia O’Neill ’18, working with the SC’s House of Charity in New Orleans, volunteered with the St. Bernard Project to rebuild homes that are still destroyed from Hurricane Katrina.

Ms. O’Neill reflected, “During this trip I was able to better understand the Sisters of Charity, by learning more about who they are and what their mission is about. It’s been a great experience.”

Service in Guatemala 2015
Chelsea Faughnan ’15 volunteering in a health clinic in Guatemala

Also in January, Chelsea Faughnan, Marisa Rosario, Angeline Malave, Jessica Gonzalez, and Marjorie Abreu—all nursing students who will graduate in May— traveled to rural areas of Guatemala to work in health clinics. The students spent a week traveling to each of four clinics, some of which were the only health care facilities for many miles, to check patients’ vital signs and ready them for examination by a doctor or medical practitioner.

The students applied their nursing skills in a practical setting, while experiencing a new culture and way of living alongside Sisters of Charity, who throughout their history have devoted themselves to working in impoverished rural areas. The Sisters living in Guatemala focus on serving the people outside of the main city—with only one doctor serving all four clinics, resources for patients are slim, yet vital. By understanding why the Sisters have taken on such burdens for the people in these areas, the student nurses were able to add a more meaningful layer to their service experience.

“On mission trips, participants always gain so much more than they can ever give,” explained Ms. O’Loughlin. “We framed these trips to let students know that they were only a link in a chain—and that with the knowledge they have gained from such projects conducted outside the classroom, they can put into practical use everything they have learned in class that aligns with the mission of the College.”

About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational and career opportunities of New York City, the College equips students with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment and leadership in the 21st century.