SXU Puts Mercy Into Action for Service Day
Saint Xavier University (SXU) recently put Mercy into action for a day of service, an opportunity for SXU students, faculty, staff, alumni and families to connect with the campus, strengthen a sense of belonging across the SXU community, and support others in the spirit of Mercy.
Hosted by the Office of Family and Community Engagement, the event focused on Saint Xavier's mission of service and the critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy. In just a few hours, attendees put together thousands of items, including diaper packages for families, hygiene kits for shelters, snack bags for hospital families, socks for those experiencing homelessness, and advocacy materials supporting domestic violence victims and immigrant communities. Attendees also created seed bombs to beautify the earth, wrote cards to sick and orphaned children, played trivia to help end global hunger, and created sensory toys for children with autism.
"Each of these efforts was intentionally tied to the critical concerns and supporting human dignity, which is at the heart of who we are at SXU. Just as important as the numbers was the experience itself -- seeing students, families, alumni, faculty, staff and community members all working side by side brought the idea of the common good to life in a way that felt real, visible and shared," said Imelda Macías, Ed.D., assistant vice president for Family and Community Engagement.
The Office of Family and Community Engagement was intentional about the organizations it partnered with, made possible by the strong network of partnerships that Manal Kanaan, Ed.D., director of High-Impact Practices, has fostered over time.
"We had a diverse pool of trusted community partners to draw from and focused on organizations doing important, on-the-ground work in areas where there's real need, like food insecurity, health care support, immigration advocacy, homelessness, and violence prevention. We also made sure the projects were hands-on and accessible so people of all ages could jump in and make meaningful contributions, even in a short amount of time. And behind all of it, each partnership was connected to the Sisters of Mercy's critical concerns of immigration, nonviolence, racism, care for the earth, and women, so it wasn't just about doing service, but also understanding why that service matters and how it connects to something bigger," said Macías.
In its family engagement efforts, the Office of Family and Community Engagement leans into hospitality, one of SXU's core values, making sure families feel welcomed, comfortable and like they truly belong at SXU. In student programming, the office focuses on creating spaces where students feel seen, supported and connected, and in professional development efforts for faculty and staff, the office aims to equip the community with practical tools to ensure they engage students with compassion, uphold their dignity, and care for the whole person.
The Office of Family and Community Engagement is grateful for the collective effort of collaborations across campus that made the event possible and looks forward to making this an annual event.
"Our first year set a really strong foundation for what this event can continue to become. I am very proud to be part of this community, whose enthusiasm for this event really reflects who we are at SXU and what we can do when we rally around a shared purpose – together in Mercy," said Macías.