Celebrating Service
In April of 2015, as part of the yearlong celebration of SMWC’s 175th anniversary, the National Alumni Association joined with the College and Sisters of Providence in organizing the Week of Service. The annual spring event encouraged alums to organize and participate in community service projects in their respective regions within the dates of the Week of Service each year. We are grateful to the many alumni who embraced and expanded these projects into the recurring gifts of service to their communities throughout the world.
We listened to your feedback and realized that our service is much bigger than just one week. As a result, we are evolving the Week of Service. We are proud to introduce Celebrating Service, the ongoing service initiative which encourages alumni to serve throughout the year in the spirit of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.
For those who want to concentrate your service during the traditional Week of Service, please continue. This expanded version accommodates you or the organization in which you serve without date restrictions.
We want to know about knitting hats for preemies at the local hospital, delivering the food to the food bank, tutoring, volunteering at your church, school, boards and other ways you invest your time and talent. We also want to communicate with other alumni the opportunity for you to join or develop new projects as a team. We encourage you to share your stories, photos and plans in order to carry forward Celebrating Service.
Find us on Facebook!
The SMWC Celebrating Service group is a place to share stories of our alumni and college community members as they volunteer in their communities. We are inspired by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s life of service and we aspire to follow in her footsteps. We hope that your stories and photos will inspire others to volunteer and serve in their communities in their own way.
Project Ideas
Do you need a little inspiration to plan a service activity for the Celebrating Service? Check out the list below of successful projects other alumni have organized in the past.
- Preparation of meals at the Ronald McDonald House
- A crockpot dinner/gift with local shelter for single mothers
- Campus beautification at SMWC
- Handing out meals at a diocese location
- Reading to school children the story of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
- Participating in a regional walk (i.e., Race for the Cure, Heart Walk, Autism Walk), phone-a-thon, etc.
- Organize or participate in a highway cleanup day
- Volunteer at a local food bank
- Volunteer at Meals on Wheels
- Organize and participate in a blood drive
- Volunteer at the Humane Society
- Volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club
- Plant flowers and trees
- Visit a local nursing home
Need More Information?
If you have any questions regarding Celebrating Service, please contact Kymberli Huet Payonk ’86.