JS
Jaclyn Smith
  • Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies
  • Class of 2020
  • Breezy Point, NY

Jaclyn Smith, of Breezy Point, Spends Spring Break Volunteering in Baltimore on an Assumption College SEND Trip

2017 Mar 17

The Assumption College Office of Campus Ministry has announced that Jaclyn Smith, of Breezy Point, spent spring break volunteering on one of the College's SEND Service Immersion Trips. Smith traveled to Baltimore. In Baltimore, MD, students spent the week rehabbing houses in West Baltimore neighborhoods of the city with Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. Students also had the opportunity to serve at the Catholic Charities organization, Jenkins Community Center-which, according to the website, is Maryland's first senior community to offer options to low and moderate income individuals for independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, and medical day care. In addition to the volunteer aspects of the trip, students learned about Catholic Social teaching from Catholic Charities organizations and visited many cultural destinations in Baltimore.

As part of the College's Campus Ministry Office's SEND Service Immersion Program, established in 1986, the students-accompanied by faculty, staff and alumni-have the opportunity to directly impact communities through volunteer work. SEND participants bond with fellow peers, faculty, staff, and alumni while working side-by-side to rebuild neighborhoods, gain new cultural perspective, and engage in prayer activities that reflect on ideals rooted in the Assumptionist tradition. This spring, SEND partnered with organizations like Catholic Charities, Habitat for Humanity, and Ministry of Presence sites.

During spring break, which was March 6-10, students traveled to Baltimore, MD; Georgetown, DE; Immokalee, FL; Norristown, PA; Trenton, NJ; and Washington, D.C.

"Our hope for the students participating in SEND is that they begin to view service as an opportunity to build relationships with others in ways that recognize our shared human dignity and call us to a life of faith in action," said Vincent Sullivan-Jacques, assistant director of Campus Ministry and director of volunteer outreach and community engagement.

The SEND Immersion Program instills in each participant a mission to serve, which is at the core of Assumption's foundations in the Catholic Tradition. For more about Campus Ministry, visit http://www.assumption.edu/campus-life/campus-ministry.