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.