Ursuline College recently hosted Carolyn Woo, former CEO of Catholic Relief Services. This lecture given by Dr. Woo was the concluding lecture of the college’s Global Perspectives series. Ursuline’s Global Perspectives: Inspiring Tomorrow’s Women Leaders series “brings current female thought leaders to campus to inspire the next generation of women leaders. The series is an outgrowth of the College’s 2017-2020 strategic plan, which calls for a renewed emphasis on women’s leadership development.” Dr. Woo is the perfect person to end this series thanks to her expertise and experiences working in academia and international human rights. Dr. Woo was CRS president and CEO from 2011 until 2016, and she now serves as Distinguished President’s Fellow for Global Development at Purdue University.
Dr. Woo’s presentation is titled, “God is speaking. Are you listening?” and aims to cultivate activism. Sister Christine De Vinne, president of the College, expressed her gratitude and joy in welcoming Dr. Woo by stating, “In her leadership role at Catholic Relief services, Dr. Woo used her strong intellect and compassionate heart to bring hope to countless people.”
The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), founded in 1899, is the collective voice of Catholic higher education in the United States. ACCU helps to foster a vibrant Catholic identity at member institutions and supports cooperation among them for the greater good of society and the Church.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international humanitarian relief and development arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Catholic higher education. The relationship was strengthened in 2005 with the creation of the U.S. Operations Division of which Catholic colleges and universities are a central focus. The CRS University website articulates the vision of the CRS Global Campus and its corresponding programs: Student Ambassadors and the Faculty Learning Commons.
As institutions committed to the mission of the Catholic Church, CRS and ACCU share a goal of strengthening Catholic identity on campus and educating students to build a more just and peaceful world. The Global Solidarity Grant Program is one way we live this mission together.
Objective
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) University Engagement and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) are jointly offering small grants of up to $3,000 to ACCU member institutions to advance Catholic mission through global solidarity by developing creative projects or enhancing existing structures.
Two types of grants are being awarded this year –CRS Student Ambassadors grants and CRS Global Campus grants.
Appropriate projects will draw on the programs and resources of CRS University Engagement. Projects that promote collaboration across campus (i.e., between academic and student life areas), reach a significant portion of the campus population, incorporate advocacy and have a digital and traditional media dimension are highly regarded. Projects must involve students in a significant way but must have a faculty or staff sponsor.
Student Ambassadors Grant
New this year will be a set of grants awarded to campuses who wish to establish a new CRS Student Ambassador program, or strengthen an existing CRS Student Ambassador program to expand their reach on campus and increase future program sustainability. Campuses are encouraged to consider applying for the grant to train and form student leaders or appropriate faculty and staff to build or strengthen the Student Ambassadors program. This could include planning an event which launches the group or expands their membership as well as enhancing the leadership structure to engage students for years to come. Proposals will be accepted that include planning in the 2017 spring semester with implementation in the 2017 spring or fall semesters.
Global Campus Grant
Campuses with an established Student Ambassadors program are encouraged to submit a creative project promoting global solidarity that will help move the campus toward or strengthen an existing CRS Global Campus designation. Projects are expected to be carried out during the 2017 spring semester. A key aspect of becoming a CRS Global Campus is to establish an inter-disciplinary stakeholder committee to guide and implement the partnership. Successful proposals will address how campuses will establish or strengthen these committees through a shared project. Examples of projects include institutionalizing the CRS Faculty Learning Commons on campus, establishing or enhancing global solidarity events during a campus mission week, or a campus-wide campaign (educational, spiritual, action, fundraising) to promote an aspect of global solidarity.
Application components
Cover Sheet – List the title of project, primary sponsor(s) and contact information, amount requested, and 100-word description of the project. An administrative contact (grants officer or business office administrator) must be identified. The cover sheet must be signed by the sponsor(s) and the administrative contact.
Narrative – For each of the three following areas, please describe:
The educational rationale and goals behind the proposal, the intended audience, and how it advances global solidarity through CRS as a part of the Catholic mission of the college.
For Student Ambassadors grants: A project plan that demonstrates the capacity of sponsoring office and/or other existing structure to support the Student Ambassadors program. Please describe how the campus will foster a community and establish a student organization of engaged students who will promote global solidarity events and sustain the organization from year to year, including recruitment of students, training, and projects or events to launch the group. Additionally, please describe how CRS resources will be utilized in new projects or to enhance existing projects on campus.
For Global Campus grants: A project plan that details how the proposal’s goals will be met, and identifies the specific resources needed to accomplish the plan and proposed activities. Outline how campus constituencies will collaborate to carry out the proposal and explain the potential for continuing activity. Please include detailed information on how CRS resources will be used to enhance the project and how the project will move the campus toward becoming a CRS Global Campus. For existing Global Campuses, please explain how the project strengthens the relationship with CRS and impact on campus.
The qualifications of the sponsors to carry out the project, and qualifications of other persons (e.g., guest speakers) who may help with the project.
The narrative must be clear, complete, and free of jargon. Please limit the narrative to three to five double-spaced pages.
Budget – Provide an itemized list of proposed expenditures (stipends, travel, reference and teaching materials, fees, etc.). Stipends may not exceed $125 per day for participants from the sponsor institution, and no one person may receive more than $500 total for work on the project. Appropriate honoraria for speakers may be proposed. Support from other sources should also be listed if a project’s total cost is expected to exceed $3,000. Charges for administrative overhead (to cover business or grant office expenses) may not exceed 10 percent of the project total. Funds will be released only when the project is completed.
Priority will be given in the application process to institutions that have not received global solidarity grants from CRS and ACCU in the past.
Grant applications are due on Friday, December 2, 2016, and should be submitted as a Word document or in PDF form to accu@accunet.org. Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of three to five representatives from CRS and ACCU. Notifications to grant winners will be sent by January 2017. Final project reports should be submitted to ACCU no later than May 31, 2017. The final report must include a summary of the event or project, including evaluation by the grantee, and a description of plans to continue the work. Photos, videos, and any media coverage would also be welcomed with the final report.
Please address questions or comments to: Alexandra Bradley, Director of Membership and Member Services & Programs, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036. E-mail: abradley@accunet.org. Telephone: (202) 457-0650, ext. 224.
Students, faculty, staff, and campuses that dedicate their time to interfaith work are invited to submit applications to be recognized for their achievements through the Better Together Awards sponsored by Interfaith Youth Core . The awards will include:
Awardees will receive money to increase their interfaith work on campus, as well as free registrations to an upcoming Interfaith Leadership Institute. Submit your application or nominate a student, faculty, or staff member today – the Outstanding Faculty/Staff Ally applications are due May 8, and the other award nominations are due by May 15.
How does your college or university engage in interfaith work? Let us know!
This summer, July 24-26, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is offering a three day leadership conference for current CRS Student Ambassadors, who are invited to engage in higher-level skills training. Teams of 1-3 students, preferably rising sophomores and juniors, are invited to apply to attend the training in Baltimore, MD.
At the training participants will engage in:
Community building with other ambassadors and advisors
Content-based workshops to dive deeper into areas of CRS expertise (i.e. human trafficking, Syrian refugee crisis, climate change).
Traveling together to Capitol Hill to hear from government experts about the importance of integrating our faith into working for global justice and advocacy and then to do our own advocacy on issues of global justice and peace.
Idea sharing on engaging with CRS programs on campus (i.e. CRS Rice Bowl & CRS Fair Trade)
The priority deadline to apply is March 11. Download this flyer for more information!
Merrimack College students pose at their Campus Kitchen.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
For Catholics, this phrase has been uttered countless times in the midst of prayer. And yet it rarely sparks a lengthy thought process about actual food. For many people, daily bread is a given, the next meal either waiting at home or picked up at a local restaurant or grocery store. But a vast number of others do worry about where their next meal will come from, both globally as well as here in the United States. The Campus Kitchens Project is one organization that is combating this problem on college campuses throughout the country.
Hunger and Catholic Social Teaching
Hunger and food security are issues that are closely tied to Catholic Social Teaching and its grounding principle: the dignity of every human life. As Catholic Relief Services’ campaign, Catholics Confront Global Poverty states, “The right to life for all persons, based on their identity as precious children of God, means that all people have basic rights to those things that are necessary for them to live and thrive, including the right to food.”
While the Church teaches that access to food is a fundamental right for all, statistics show that many families in the United States struggle with hunger. According to the Bread for the World Institute’s 2014 Hunger Report, the most recent data show that in 2012, nearly 50 million people in the United States resided in households that struggled to put adequate food on the table and approximately 50 percent of children living in the United States will live in a household that relies on government assistance for food by the time they are eighteen. It is evident that the right to food is being treated as a privilege in this country, and a privilege from which many are excluded.
Food justice is also intimately related to care for the environment, as it is a form of natural resource that we, as stewards of creation, are called to respect and share with all. Wasting food is just as egregious as wasting other natural resources, such as energy and water. That is why it is staggering to consider how much food is wasted every day while simultaneously one in six Americans don’t know where their next meal will come from. An estimated 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted every year, which costs Americans more than $165 billion annually and accounts for 25 percent of national methane emissions.
The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) is helping build a connection between food that is wasted and people who do not have enough to eat. The CKP uses kitchen facilities and student volunteers on college and university campuses to accept, store, repackage, and deliver food to community partners that would normally be thrown away. Students participate in every part of the process, from collecting the food to making the meals, and even dining with those who they serve. CKP is currently at 45 campuses around the country, five of which are ACCU members: Gonzaga University, Marquette University, Saint Louis University, Saint Peter’s University, and Walsh University. Merrimack University will be the sixth ACCU member to start a Campus Kitchen with the launch of their project this fall.
On its website, the CKP defines its mission by three goals: “to strengthen bodies by using existing resources to meet hunger and nutritional needs of our community, to empower minds by providing leadership and service learning opportunities to students,… and to build communities by fostering a new generation of community-minded adults.” At Gonzaga University, this mission has proved to be successful. The campus chapter accepts food from several sources, including the Second Harvest Food Bank and on-campus dining halls, to provide nutritious meals for those who lack food security in the Spokane community. The website of the Gonzaga chapter tracks its effectiveness since beginning in 2005: The effort has recovered 98,362 pounds of food, served 92,297 meals, and logged a collective 15,294 hours.
The Campus Kitchens Project and Catholic Colleges and Universities
The goals of Campus Kitchens complement the social justice mission of Catholic colleges and universities. Emily Paulsen, Campus Kitchens’ representative at Gonzaga University, says that “the [university’s] notion of living a life for others fits right in with the work we do.” CKP’s model helps students live out the tenants of Catholic Social Teaching specific to hunger and food security in practical, transformative ways that benefit the students as much as those who receive a meal. Paulson describes how she has seen CKP affect the students who volunteer with the organization: “I have seen the students actually change their majors to degrees in social work because of their participation with the Campus Kitchen. We run a community dinner every Thursday night in downtown Spokane…The impact of students engaging with clients at the dinner is huge.”
Campus Kitchens’ congruence with the Catholic mission was an important factor to the Merrimack College students who brought the project to their campus, as well. Amy Byrne, one of the students instrumental in the process, describes how Campus Kitchens relates to her school’s Catholic identity: “The Catholic identity at Merrimack is focused on engaging our community through acts of compassion and education. Our Campus Kitchen is a natural extension of our values because it connects so many different partners in our community, and it addresses a number of social justice issues along the way.”
For the Merrimack College students involved in bringing CKP to their campus, the national office offered many resources that eased the process. One example is the $5,000 grant they received after winning an online contest offered by Campus Kitchens. These grants are offered several times throughout the year to help eliminate financial barriers that may arise in starting a school chapter. The Campus Kitchens Project also provides a Campus Kitchens Planner, an online tool that walks users step by step through the process and makes it easy to ask CKP staff for additional guidance. Byrne described how helpful the staff at CKP was, saying, “The head staff of the Campus Kitchens Project organization is so supportive and resourceful. They will do whatever they can to help you overcome obstacles along the way.”
The Campus Kitchens Project is one way of promoting the mission of Catholic higher education. It combats the issue of hunger through environmentally sustainable practices while inspiring leadership and solidarity in students. As Pope Francis said in his homily at the opening Mass of the Caritas Internationalis General Assembly in Rome on May 12, “We ought to set the table for all, and ask that there be a table for all.” The Campus Kitchens Project helps colleges and universities set the table for all in a sustainable, empowering way.
Meals prepared by students at Saint Louis University’s Campus Kitchen.
Catherine Coffey is a senior at Boston College and was a Peace and Justice Intern at the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in summer 2015.
Want to start a Campus Kitchen Project chapter at your college or university? Not sure where to begin? Be sure to catch one of the remaining Fall 2015 information sessions in November and December! More information about how to start a Campus Kitchens chapter at your school, including grant opportunities, can be found on the website, campuskitchens.org.
Recognized for their service to youth in Pittsburgh communities, One Youth, a student group from La Roche College in Pennsylvania, has recently received the Gateway to Equity Award from the North Hills-McKnight branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW).
The Gateway to Equity Award honors an individual, group or organization that has shown by action and philosophy the promotion of the AAUW mission of equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. La Roche’s student group, One Youth, is honored for their mission to empower, inspire and enable the younger generation to acquire leadership by targeting and addressing the needs of local youth in struggling communities.
Click here to read more about La Roche College, One Youth, and their new award.
MyActions, a student-powered college network for sharing sustainable and socially responsible actions, has recently announced the recipients of its latest Student Actions Awards for the 2014 Fall Semester. The awards honor undergraduate institutions for student leadership, momentum, and effectiveness of sustainability-related actions. Congratulations to the following ACCU members receiving awards:
Global poverty is a big issue that, while possible to solve, still remains one of the biggest challenges today. Mindful of the impact personal giving can have on those living below the global poverty line, presidents, past presidents, and presidents emeriti have taken The Presidents’ Pledge Against Global Poverty to donate a portion of their paycheck to overcome global poverty.
Knowing the obligation posed by Catholic Social Teaching to show compassion, consideration and respect for the poor and vulnerable, presidents from ACCU member colleges have been active in participating in the pledge. Leading by example, these presidents are promoting Catholic mission and identity on their campuses by engaging with Catholic Social Teaching. Read the full story and learn more about the pledge here.
Worth a read: Spalding University, a Catholic university in Louisville, KY, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, was designated the first certified Compassionate University in the world in 2011. The charter applauds Spalding University’s commitment to under-performing elementary schools and participation in health screening and disaster relief efforts around the world. In a recent feature on President Tori Murden McClure, Religion News Service highlighted the culture of service at Spalding, noting that the students participate in 1.6 million hours of service in one year. To learn more about President McClure and Spalding University, read the article here.
Manuscripts are currently being accepted for a new journal, Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE), created by ACCU member St. Mary’s College of California. It is an open access peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the advancement of the theory, research, policy and practice of civic engagement, community-based research, service-learning, leadership, and social justice education in the context of Catholic higher education. Read the call for papers online.
ACCU Peace and Justice 