KEEP MAKING HISTORY
In honor of our 200th anniversary, we challenged the entire community to continue
to improve the world by giving back 200 years of volunteer service all in one prolific
year.
In the end, after one full year of service, the clock's final tally was more than
225 years of service — the equivalent of 1.98 million hours.
FAQ
How did it work?
Every hour of volunteer (nonpaid) service contributed went toward meeting our challenge
of giving back 200 years of service during our 200th anniversary.
Who was involved?
The challenge was open to anyone who wanted to improve the world around them: Saint
Louis University students, alumni, faculty, staff, and those in the St. Louis community
and beyond.
What constituted volunteer service?
Any volunteer time spent helping a person, organization or part of the community.
Whenever you give unpaid time to a nonprofit, government agency, school, church or
other community organization to further the public good, you’re serving. So tutoring
youth, coaching a youth team, serving meals in a soup kitchen, helping out at a health
clinic, or your church, or child's school, and other nonprofit organizations all qualified.
Are there ways I can reflect on service work?
Yes, on this page you'll find questions that will help you get more meaning from your
one-time or on-going service projects.
How did this effort support the Jesuit approach to service?
At Saint Louis University, we know that service is not about recognition – or about
logging hours. It’s about living our mission and living the Jesuit call to be men
and women for and with others. With this challenge, we hope to encourage service and
instill in others the satisfaction of helping those in need and making a difference
in our community. Jesuit education calls us to see God in all things and to be sympathetic
to those who are not like us. When we volunteer, we gain perspective and see the world
through the eyes of those different from ourselves. It is our hope that this challenge
will alight the fire of service in members of our community who are new to voluntarism.
As the former Jesuit Father General Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., said: "When the heart
is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change."
How long did the challenge last?
It lasted an entire year, from Nov. 14, 2017, to Nov. 14, 2018.