About Christian Service
The Christian Service Center
(CSC) aims to be the hub for students and agencies to connect. CS Director
Jenny Girard and CS Coordinator Linda Boyd staff the program and are
here to support SI students as they engage in meaningful service with
non-profit community organizations. We provide on-site assistance in order
to help students find service opportunities that are meaningful and life
changing.
In our office, we have a variety of resources, such as our agency
database, to help facilitate the process of getting connected to
a volunteer activity. As well, we coordinate agency fairs on campus,
bringing local community groups to SI to share their work and recruit
for new, energetic volunteers. Through our efforts, we integrate
service-learning experiences into the SI classroom and we link community
action to the development of our students in the Ignatian tradition.
Commitment To Service
As an integral part of the SI curriculum and experience, students are asked to make a Commitment To Service as a part of their
graduation requirement.
SI's Commitment To Service has 5 basic principles which are listed below.
Further explanation on each of these aspects of the requirement are contained throughout this website for your reference and support. Please remember that this information is also included in the student Christian Service Handbook provided to you during Freshmen presentations on service.
Basic Principles
- SI students are asked to provide service
to the broader community (beyond SI) for a minimum total of 100 hours.
- Students must complete their service during their first three years at SI (after enrollment freshman year and by the beginning of senior year). This service requirement is expected to be completed and turned in by the start of senior
year, on Senior Registration Day;
- SI students are often involved in a variety of service activities all over our communities. Students wishing to receive credit for their volunteer activity must participate through and with a nonprofit organization (501c(3)). (As is mandated to us legally, SI can only provide service credit to students engaged in volunteering with/through nonprofit organizations. If Christian Service staff is unfamiliar with an organization, students may be asked to provide proof of nonprofit status. This can include a brochure or web-page with formal nonprofit verification. Or it may consist of providing the nonprofit's tax ID number.)
- Students are responsible for providing official verification of service (using the SI forms provided with all signatures complete). SI policy is to encourage prompt verification of volunteer activity. Students, if they desire full credit for their service hours, should turn in service forms within six months of participation. Please click here to get a copy of the verification form.
- Because we are a Jesuit High School, our graduation requirement also includes a Core Service Project --an experience of direct service that addresses a social justice. The focus of a Core Project is for the student to work personally with people that have experiences of injustice which place them in marginalized situations. Students can plan a core project of any length, though never shorter than 40 hours. Core Projects are a wonderful opportunity for SI students to live out our ethic of being in solidarity with those in need.
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For more information and details about our SI graduation service requirement, please go to the following webpages for assistance. These pages are intended to support you as you plan and prepare for your service requriement. As always, students are strongly encouraged to come into our office, in person, to speak with us and to get individual help.
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