This winter, students and other members of the Fordham community can make a difference without straying too far from home. The University offers multiple service opportunities throughout the semester, many of which occur on or depart directly from campus.
Get involved now with these four service outings happening in January and February.
1. Help Provide School Supplies for Neighborhood Children
Monday, January 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Lowenstein Center, Room 1004
Join your fellow Rams on the Lincoln Center campus to wrap school supply care packages for neighborhood children. Participants can also include personal notes of affirmation.
2. Create Food Packages for Senior Citizens in Need
Saturday, January 25, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
239 West 49th Street
Fordham’s commitment to the Broadway community goes beyond excellence onstage and behind the scenes. This month, the University is joining Encore Community Services—a Catholic Charity partner just a short subway ride from the Lincoln Center campus—to create food parcels that will support neighborhood seniors in need, many of whom worked in the performing arts. Since 1977, Encore has provided seniors with a range of services to help them live independent and dignified lives in the midtown Times Square and Clinton communities. For this reason, and its focus on initiatives such as “aging gracefully through the arts,” Encore has earned a reputation as “Broadway’s Longest Running Act of Loving Care.”
This event is sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations, as part of its For and With Others Volunteer Day, but it’s open to the entire University community.
3. Fight Food Insecurity in the Bronx
Friday, January 31, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
St. Ignatius Middle School
Wednesday, February 12, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
McShane Campus Center Entrance
Among the issues affecting New Yorkers daily, food insecurity is one of the most pressing. According to the New York State Department of Health, about one in four New Yorkers report that they do not have sufficient access to food.
Two upcoming events give the Fordham community an opportunity to promote food security in its own backyard. Students and other volunteers will gather to make up to 200 meal packs for community fridges, and conclude the day with a brief Ignatian reflection. The first of these events will happen alongside students at St. Ignatius Middle School in the Bronx. The second will take place at the McShane Campus Center.
Both events are offered through Fordham’s Department of Mission Integration and Ministry, which is rooted in the Jesuit tradition of balancing reflection and action, a practice developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits.
4. Connect with Those Experiencing Houselessness
Sunday, February 23, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet in the Lowenstein Center Lobby
Volunteers will join forces with students enrolled in the Philosophical Ethics course at the Lincoln Center campus and visit Xavier Mission, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Together they will share in conversation and serve a hot meal to people experiencing houselessness in New York City. Attendees will take the brief subway trip together, with MetroCards provided.
This experience is presented by Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, which connects Fordham with dozens of local and global partners to provide students with opportunities for experiential learning, research, and civic engagement.
