Program Overview
The SCU Alumni for Others (AFO) program was developed to continue the Jesuit mission of “Service to Others.” In the tradition of giving back to the community around us, AFO organizes projects to reach out to those less fortunate. This program is open to all alumni, their families, and friends in the spirit of opening ourselves up and helping others. Some of the groups AFO supports are Home Safe Domestic Violence Shelter, Sacred Heart Nativity School (a middle school for low income, at-risk boys started by the Jesuits in 2000), Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together and more. While most of these service projects are held in Greater San Jose, we have purposely targeted outreach efforts in outlying locales such as San Francisco/Peninsula, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland/East Bay, San Diego, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland and Denver. Action Community Teams (ACT) are small groups of staff who volunteer to help the University incorporate more fully principles of social justice within its institutional policies and practices. ACT grew out of an SCU Community Forum held February, 1994, by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. In response to a call for action at the Forum, teams were formed to develop strategies and propose plans responsive to the needs of low wage employees at SCU. ACT Volunteer Projects include
ACT community service opportunities are offered only occasionally throughout the year. They are announced via email to the SCU community as they are scheduled. The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education serves as the central coordinating department for the Staff Community Service in the Jesuit Tradition Program. Using the extensive contacts with community partners that the Arrupe Partnerships has developed over the years, the center has identified additional community service opportunities for staff. These opportunities will complement those already developed by Alumni for Others and Action Community Teams Examples of these service opportunities include
Volunteer Center of Silicon ValleyStaff members may want to explore other community service opportunities on their own. Hundreds of other opportunities can be found at the Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley, 1922 The Alameda, Suite 211, (408) 247-1126. Check out their website at: www.vcsv.us. Pilot Program for paid release-timeIn order to encourage SCU staff to participate in community service, a pilot program was launched in fall 2005. Staff are able to get paid work release time to participate in service opportunities that take place during regular work hours. The pilot program is designed to provide a new incentive and vehicle for Santa Clara staff to experience broader participation in community service. This pilot program is for those staff who want to participate in community service opportunities that occur during the work day. It is especially designed for those who are new to community service. The pilot program provides paid release time from work and structured opportunities for SCU staff to be involved in service to the community. In conjunction with existing University programs, it builds community relationships while addressing community needs, advancing University goals, and satisfying the desire of staff to serve the community. It is a new kind of commitment on the part of the University to the ideal of solidarity, a commitment that benefits the local community, the staff participants, and the University.
For details about the Pilot ProgramContact Theresa Ladrigan-Whelpley Coordinating CommitteeJim Briggs, President’s Office |
A new collaborative effort to encourage greater involvement of University staff in community service has begun at SCU. The program promotes "a culture of service . . . to society in general and to its most disadvantaged members" and advances "an engaged concern for the common good . . . of the local community," both of which are among the fundamental values of our University community. The collaboration includes Alumni for Others, ACT, and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. Working in collaboration, we hope to encourage broader staff participation in service opportunities. This new initiative helps meet the strategic challenge to "draw upon the faith perspectives of all members of the University community in order to foster a common conversation about issues of injustice and a collaborative search for just solutions to social problems.” (Quotes– Kolvenbach)
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