SERVICE SATURDAYS WITH THE SISTERS
On January 21, 2017, Viterbo University hosted the first Service Saturday of the year. Usually, Viterbo sends students to serve at community agencies. This time, they paired with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at St. Rose Convent to help improve the community. Their purpose was to do indirect service projects for non-profit organizations and groups in the community.
At this Service Saturday, Viterbo had a record turn out, with 68 Viterbo volunteers. This number does not include the sisters involved, which would take the number to around 80. With all of these volunteers, they were able to pack soup in a jar meals for families of the Boys and Girls Club, create valentines for veterans at the Tomah Veterans Administration and residents of the Hillview Care Center, sew mittens for the Salvation Army, construct hygiene kits for the homeless, tie kids’ blankets for Project Linus and put together valentine cookie care packages for guests at the Warming Center and children at the Boys and Girls Club.
Along with record number of volunteers, pairing up with the FSPA has had additional benefits. One Viterbo volunteer stated, “I enjoyed that [Service Saturdays] was with the Sisters because it gave us not only a great opportunity to spend some time serving the community, but we also had a chance to connect with the Sisters, who are such a great part of the Viterbo community.” Similarly, many sisters commented on the great energy and excitement of the students and other volunteers.
Kirsten Gabriel, the Director of Undergraduate Research and Service Learning said her favorite part of the event was “spending time with the sisters and other volunteers, hearing their stories and learning about the ways they’ve served in their communities. You couldn’t help but be inspired!”
Service Saturdays provides opportunities for students and introduces them to serving. It also teaches its volunteers about non-profit organizations in the community. It is a great start to volunteering because it only takes up a little time, with one morning of commitment. Gabriel has noticed, “Many of the students who volunteer with us end up going back to become a long-term volunteer at the organizations they served via Service Saturdays, and we have a significant number of students who have used Service Saturdays as a way to build regular service into their lives.
The next Service Saturday, scheduled for February, will be the one-year anniversary of the program.