Students find purpose through CCSJ service 
Good Stuff Finds a Good Home Each year during Senior Week, the CCSJ sponsors a Good Stuff campaign, providing students with an opportunity to live out Loyola’s mission by donating their clothing, dishes, small appliances and unopened food to local agencies. Drop off sites are located around campus during senior week, and vans are available around dumpsters on May 19. Contact Dennis McCunney at dmccunney@loyola.edu |
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At the core of the Jesuit tradition is the commitment to be men and women for and with others, and for the past 15 years Loyola’s Center for Community Service and Justice (CCSJ) has been the conduit for students to fulfill this pledge. Established in 1992 as the Center for Values and Service, the office began with a handful of staff and has grown into a team of 11 professionals, 17 student service coordinators and 11 student assistants. Renamed the Center for Community Service and Justice in 2006, the Center’s ongoing efforts have resulted in partnerships with 64 community agencies, 30 Service-Learning courses and a newfound institutional commitment to Loyola’s involvement in Baltimore. The CCSJ team’s efforts to empower students to make service and justice an active part of their lives have been realized through alumni whose lives have been transformed as a result of their experience at Evergreen. "The Center became my study hall, my classroom, my living room, my heart and my home," says Alexis Donnelly, '01, a high school teacher and job coach at Jobs for Bay State Graduates, Inc., a Massachusetts' non-profit organization. "The experiences that I was a part of seeped into my soul. I will never look at a person, situation, neighborhood, church or society the same." Melissa Chalmers Broome, '01, is now a Senior Policy Advocate for Baltimore's Job Opportunities Task Force, an agency that advocates programs to assist low-income workers and job seekers. She attributes her passion for non-profit work to her experiences at Loyola and the influence of the Center ’s director, Sr. Catherine "Missy" Gugerty, SSND. "Because of her, I knew I wanted to work in the non-profit field. Loyola pushes you to think hard about complicated issues," said Chalmers Broome, who worked in the Center and served as a Student Coordinator for a local outreach program, which she continued to run for a time after graduation. Current students have a plethora of opportunities in which to participate, including one-time or ongoing service events, immersion trips across the globe and academic courses that incorporate a service component into coursework. Students are matched with projects and agencies based on their interests. Many deal with issues such as illiteracy, homelessness, neglect, mental health and physical disabilities among adults and youth. Regardless of the project, education is the key to making the experience meaningful for the student, says Gugerty. All volunteer opportunities are structured around the P.A.R.E. model: Preparation, Action, Reflection and Evaluation. Before going to a service site, volunteers are prepared at an orientation session, reflect both before and after visits and participate in ongoing evaluation. A variety of transportation options are available to students, including bus tokens, the use of college vehicles and car pools. "This is service like they’ve never experienced it before," explains Gugerty. "Many of the students have participated in service projects in high school where they just go for the day and that’s it. Our program is much more in-depth and gives students a broader perspective of the issues and a chance to reflect afterward." For more information about CCSJ programs, including immersion trips to Mexico and El Salvador, monthly Beans and Bread programs, Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, SumServe and Care-A-Van, visit www.loyola.edu/ccsj. | 
