SXU Holds Successful 2023 Service Week
For the second year in a row, Saint Xavier University (SXU) held a successful Service Week. Observed the week of March 20, over 140 SXU students, faculty and staff participated in valuable service-learning experiences.
The community honored the core value of service and positively made a difference on and off campus by participating in a number of projects, including campus cleanup, repackaging diapers for SWADDLE (Southwest Area Diaper Depository for Little Ends), completing restoration work at Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens, providing healthy lunches for the Back of the Yards neighborhood through Port Ministries, assembling food kits at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and more.
While on campus, over 30 volunteers made 200 lunches of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and healthy snacks along with inspirational notes for each Port Ministries bag. Students also volunteered to prepare the SXU grounds for spring beautification with campus cleanup.
Off campus, even more students traveled to Port Ministries to participate in after-school sports and art activities with children from the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Over 50 volunteers repackaged thousands of diapers for families in need for SWADDLE and those who volunteered at the Greater Chicago Food Depository packaged over 900 boxes of food, which made 19,350 nutritious meals for families in need. Other volunteers cleaned up invasive species at Lake Katherine.
Through their work, students gained a greater appreciation for diversity, human dignity and equity while taking a deep approach to learning about their community and its diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. According to the committee's post-assessment data, all volunteers agreed or strongly agreed that engaging in a service activity helped them develop a further appreciation of servant leadership. Students participating in service-learning experiences develop teamwork and leadership skills while proudly gaining the satisfaction of realizing that their efforts and skills have made a difference.
Katie Szymczak, TRIO student support specialist, Manal Kanaan, Ed.D., director of High Impact Practices, and Josh Bogaski-Baugh, executive director of Student Success, all members of the Service Week Committee, are proud of the critical high-impact service-learning experiences afforded to students through Service Week.
"Our students are simply amazing! I truly enjoyed observing and partaking in these service opportunities. Our students have such a passion for serving others – whether it may be cleaning up brush, repacking food or diapers, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or playing basketball with students in the afterschool program," Szymczak said.
"Learning isn't confined to the classroom. By allowing our SXU students to participate in real-world settings, they gain valuable experience, value civic engagement, and learn to serve their communities touched by issues of poverty, racism, discrimination and environmental issues," added Kanaan.
Studies have shown that by actively engaging in collaborative settings among faculty and peers, students' performance is elevated and their quality of performance is improved, which is associated with retention and improved graduation rates for all students of diverse backgrounds, especially those who are first-generation students and historically underserved students in postsecondary education.
Bogaski-Baugh, who Service Week Committee members praise for his guidance, support and passionate dedication to servant leadership, looks forward to the future of Service Week. Next year, the committee hopes to collaborate with additional organizations such as Feed My Starving Children, the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, and community homeless shelters and food pantries, with a goal of instilling in students the importance of giving back to their communities, not just now but long after graduating from SXU.