Service Outreach
Reaching Out to Help
The Office of Service Experience in the Department of Mission and Identity provides students with holistic service opportunities within the community and beyond. These experiences promote the education of social justice issues, action, and meaningful self-reflection. Signature service programs offered at Seton Hill University include:
- Campus Wide Days of Service: Each year, the Seton Hill Community comes together to positively impact the community. Small groups of students go to various local community agencies to assist in whatever is needed during Labor of Love Day, Earth Day of Service & Take the Day On in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.
- Alternative Break Service Trips: Students have the opportunity to participate in week-long service trips over an academic break, often as a Catholic Social Teaching service trip in the tradition of the Vincentian-Setonian Family or a home repair trip in partnership with organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
- Hunger and Homelessness Week: Every year, the week before Thanksgiving, Seton Hill University participates in the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Some of our staple programs include the annual food drive for Westmoreland Food Bank, serving meals in Pittsburgh in partnership with Aramark Dining Services and Maranatha Outreach, and the Donate a Meal Swipe Program.
- Operation Christmas Basket: Annually, the Seton Hill Community hosts a resale of gently used items and a basket raffle during the Christmas season. Proceeds benefit the Alternative Break Trip Program to offset student costs associated with a weeklong service trip.
- Founders’ Day Service Project: Every year in March, Seton Hill students partner with the Sisters of Charity in a service project to honor our founders who prioritized community needs and a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. Projects have included packing first aid kits for Feeding the Spirit, packing hygiene kits for St. Joseph House of Hospitality, and making fleece tie blankets for cancer patients.
- Curricular Service: The Director of Service Experience also works closely with faculty members to integrate service-learning into Seton Hill’s curriculum.
- Local Service Opportunities: There are a variety of local service organizations for students to get involved with, including (but not limited to) Caritas Christi, Greensburg Salvation Army, Feeding the Spirit Soup Kitchen, Westmoreland Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul Store, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region, Westmoreland Land Trust, YWCA of Westmoreland County, Blackburn Center, Habitat for Humanity of Central Westmoreland, and more!
From semester to semester, other volunteer programs may appear and evolve based on local and global needs and student interest.
If your organization is interested in partnering with Seton Hill for service opportunities, please contact Amanda DeWitt at adewitt@setonhill.edu or 724-830-2598.
