Service and Justice

Inspired by Catholic teaching, Assumption forms students for compassionate service and social justice.  Weekly and one-time opportunities in the Worcester area are available, along with week-long service and immersion trips in the United States and abroad.  As a Catholic Relief Services Global Campus, Assumption educates students about matters of social and environmental justice, as well as the Christian call to care for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized.

Reach Out Center

Assumption students serve the needy among our neighbors in Worcester through weekly and one-time service opportunities offered by Campus Ministry’s Reach Out Center.

Weekly Service Opportunities:  Serve for an hour a week during the academic year with one of Assumption’s partner agencies in Worcester, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Pernet Family Services, Rainbow Childhood Development Center, Worcester Public Schools, and Nativity School of Worcester.  Choose a type of service that interests you: mentor children, tutor teens, visit with veterans, refurbish abandoned houses, share a meal with adults in transition, teach religious education to children, lead recreational activities with children and adults with special needs.  Van transportation is provided to the service sites for students who do not have cars on campus. Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

One-Time Service Opportunities:  Athletic teams and other groups undertake one-time service projects during the academic year.  The largest of these is Working for Worcester which brings together students from all of the colleges and universities in Worcester for a day in April to improve recreation infrastructure and opportunities within neighborhoods across the city. Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

Service Immersion Trips

During Christmas break, spring break, and summer break, Assumption students have the opportunity to participate in week-long service/immersion trips. On these trips, students serve others, foster community, and gain insight to their spiritual lives. 

The SEND program offers one international and eleven domestic trips each year to Ecuador, Baltimore MD, Tuscaloosa AL, Washington DC, Camden NJ, Immokalee FL, Georgetown DE, Landsdowne PA, Trenton NJ, and Pine Ridge SD.  Partner organizations include Rostro de Cristo, Habitat for Humanity, L’Arche, and Romero Center Ministries.  Materials from Catholic Relief Services are used during meetings to prepare for the trips and for the daily reflection periods during the trips.  Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

ServeUP is an annual trip offered during Spring Break by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.  The service usually involves rebuilding efforts for victims of hurricanes in Louisiana or Texas.  Assumption students join students from other Worcester colleges and universities on the trip.  Contact Scott Brill or Rachel Dean for more information.

Other Opportunities for Service and Justice on Campus

Advocates for Life is a student group that is dedicated to promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.  Annual events include the March for Life in Washington DC and a fundraising dinner for Visitation House in Worcester, a home for women facing crisis pregnancies.  Contact Stephanie McCaffrey for more information.

Catholic Relief Services Social Justice Ambassadors raise awareness, educate, and foster dialogue focused on issues of inequality, justice, and social change.  Assumption is a Global Campus partner with Catholic Relief Services. Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

Foundations in Faith offers students the opportunity to lead religious education classes in a Catholic parish in the Worcester area.  Van transportation is provided for students who do not have a car on campus. Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

Greenhounds, Assumption’s environmental club, promotes sustainable practices for the University and for individual members of the University community.  Contact Vinnie Sullivan-Jacques for more information.

SEARCH offers students the opportunity to lead pre-Confirmation retreats for high school students from parishes in the Worcester area.  Contact Stephanie McCaffrey for more information.