Nearly 40 Canisius students and four faculty and staff members spent winter break serving others here and abroad.
Organized by the Office of Campus Ministry, Winter Service Week (WSW) provides students with opportunities to serve, work and learn in some of the poorest communities across the country. All trips are centered around the cornerstones of spirituality, solidarity, social justice and simplicity.
“We want to our increase our students’ awareness of some of the injustices that occur around the country, and some that occur close to home,” explains Sarah Signorino, associate campus minister. “In addition, we hope they will fall in love with and be in solidarity with the communities they serve, provide help, but also listen to and just spend time with the people of the communities they serve.”
Students traveled to New York City and helped rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. They partnered with the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure that disaster-impacted communities recover.
In Erie, PA, Canisius students worked and served alongside the sisters of the St. Benedictine Community in a variety of ministries throughout the inner city and within the monastery, itself. They served at education centers for adults and children, at a community center for disabled adults, at after-school programs for underprivileged children, and at a children’s art house, a soup kitchen and a food bank.
In Syracuse, NY, students partnered with the Catholic Charities Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). They assisted in pre-k classrooms and took part in an evening respite program for disabled teens and refugees.
“We taught refugees English, put together furniture for the refugees' new apartments and worked in their after school program for children,” says Emily Dorward ’17. “I remember one boy, in particular, Moshe, who was Vietnamese and spoke hardly any English. Despite the language barrier, Moshe and I began to play together. We had so much fun during Winter Service Week and it truly shows that love knows no language.”
At the Ndakinna Education Center near Saratoga Springs, NY, students learned about Northeast Native American culture, nature awareness, land stewardship, basic wilderness survival and animal tracking. The group also assisted with trail construction and maintenance, facility upkeep and exhibit creation.
As part of an international service-immersion trip, eight students and two faculty members traveled to Chennai in Southern India. The group was based at the Loyola Secondary School in Kuppayanallur, and traveled to additional sites to be educated by village leaders, lawyers and others about the plight of the Dalit, or untouchable.
“Our India program helps students and faculty explore the Dalit’s struggle for equality,” says Luanne Firestone, associate campus minister. “This is a huge and complex social injustice that has roots not only in economic status but also in race and religion. Our team focuses on listening and learning from the people they meet and loving them as fellow sisters and brothers in God’s family. In so doing, the hope is to build up a community of compassion and solidarity.”
Both Signorino and Firestone believe that knowledge the students gain from their experiences have the power to transform them students in many ways. They feel affirmed in their vocations, sometimes change majors, or even commit to a year of post-graduate service.
Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation, and the premier private university in Western New York.
