University Ministry's Community Action program collaborates with a variety of Bay Area non-profit agencies to provide USF students with opportunities to serve in their local community. Through these programs, our students honor the Jesuit ideals of being men and women for others, and contemplatives in action. Students witness the daily struggle of people living on the margins of society and are encouraged to ask questions about the systems which perpetuate this suffering.
Days of Service
Do you have a passion for the environment and or social justice? Then join us on April 13th from 7:30am to 12:00pm for our annual April Action day of service event. Every year for this environmentally themed service event, USF faculty, staff, and students work at several sites in the Bay Area to provide urban community gardening, cleanup, planting, and beautification services. In addition to April Action, the USF community will have the opportunity not only to partake in service activities, but also to choose to participate in a one-day immersion. The one-day immersion will focus on seeing San Francisco through the perspectives of the underrepresented communities. This year’s April Action will provide the USF community with opportunities of service and knowledge that enrich individual's advancement in creating a more humane, just, and green world. April Action will take place this year on Saturday April 13, 2013 from 7:30am to 12:00pm. To sign up, click here: April Action 2013 Sign-Up
October Outreach is a poverty themed yearly community service event that targets poor and marginalized communities within San Francisco. Every fall semester; USF students, athletes, greeks, and faculty & staff work on several sites within San Francisco to provide service in fighting poverty and hunger. Participants volunteer their time to different poverty based organizations throughout San Francisco by packing lunch, preparing and delivering meals, engaging activities for children, building homes, and more. Sites this year include Glide Memorial Church, Saint Vincent De Paul Center, Martin De Porres House of Hospitality, Raphael House, Episcopal Community Center, Sanctuary Shelter and Community Center, Saint Joseph's Family Center, and environmental clean up at Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park.
Date & Time: October Outreach 2013 Date TBD
To sign up, click here: October Outreach 2012 Sign Up
Weekly Volunteer Opportunities
Students meet in UM and take
Muni to Project Open Hand in the tenderloin. They then take a walking
route
delivering meals (provided by POH) to people living with AIDS and senior
citizens in the Tenderloin.
Date: Every Wednesday
Time: 2:30 pm -5:30 pm (meet at University Ministry at 2:30 pm)
Contact: Sign up in University Ministry or e-mail us at um@usfca.edu
Friday afternoons offer another opportunity through St. Vincent de Paul at the Ozanam Wellness Center on 1175 Howard Street. Participate with men from the Father Alfred Center Addiction Program in activities and exercises that encourage stress reduction and flourishing. Past activities have included Restorative Yoga, mindfulness meditations, readings, and reflective sharing. Meet in the University Ministry Office at 3:15pm on Fridays; return time to campus is approximately 6:15pm. Please dress in comfortable clothing and bring a Muni pass or $2.00 cash to ride Muni to/from the Wellness Center. Contact Resident Minister Heidi Kallen at hkallen@usfca.edu for more information.
The St. Vincent De Paul Meal Project is on Monday nights at 3:30pm. Volunteers meet in front of the University Ministry Office to take a bus to St. Vincent De Paul. For any further questions contact um@usfca.edu or Resident Minister Wilita Sanguma at wdsanguma@usfca.edu.
Come get your hands dirty at USF's very own community garden! You are invited to stop by any time on Fridays between 12 noon and 4 pm to lend a hand with garden maintenance.
The garden is located on Turk Street between Lone Mountain and the School of Education
This volunteer program gives USF pre-med students a chance to volunteer at the St. Vincent De Paul Homeless Center Clinic on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00PM -9: 30PM. A women’s only clinic is run once a month on Sunday nights in the same facility. Students help with triage throughout the shelter, take vital signs of patients, shadow patient interviews, ask preceptor questions about diagnosis and assessment plans to organize the paperwork at the end of the night. It is a beneficial platform for volunteers to interact with patients and doctors of the Bay Area.
Please e-mail ucsf5thstreetpremeds@gmail.com for more information or fill out the sign up sheets available in the University Ministry Office.
Watch the video of USF students who volunteer at the clinic
Tutoring Programs
University Ministry sponsors after-school tutoring programs at St. Anthony's of the Immaculate Conception Elementary School and St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School. Transportation is arranged to and from the respective locations. Once a year, students from both schools come to the USF campus for a chance to see the opportunities they would have in attending a university. Tutors receive $10 per hour compensation for their time.
Tutoring times are: Tuesday & Thursday afternoons.
St Anthony's: Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-4:30.
St Charles: Tuesday and Thursday 2-4:30.
* All programs operate in the afternoon between 1pm and 5pm. Each program however, has a specific schedule that is subject to change within that range.
* For further information on tutoring programs, please contact University Ministry at um@usfca.edu or (415) 422-4463.
