Celebrating the Season of Giving at SLU-Madrid

by Isaiah Voss

The Madrid Campus community donates blood, non-perishable goods and more leading up to Christmas.

This holiday season the SLU-Madrid faculty, staff and students have given back to the greater Madrid community in different ways. Starting with a food drive during the week of Thanksgiving, the SLU-Madrid community has also collaborated with many other organizations ― helping others in Spain and beyond.

A variety of brightly wrapped Christmas gifts sit next to a Christmas tree.

Gifts donated by SLU-Madrid faculty and staff under the tree in San Ignacio Hall. Photo by Ángel García.

In the Christmas spirit, faculty and staff collaborated with Reyes Magos de Verdad, a non-profit launched in 2008. Housing Coordinator Paloma Lladó brought the gift drive to SLU-Madrid. The organization distributes nearly 15,000 gifts to the elderly and children in need across Spain each year.

"The Christmas season reminds us to reach out to those in need," said Madrid Campus Director and Academic Dean Paul Vita, Ph.D. "The generosity of our faculty and staff is heart-warming ― an act of solidarity that aligns with our identity as a Jesuit institution."

The Human Rights Club's bake sale raised funds for the Borgen Project whose initiative is addressing global poverty through U.S. policy. The SLU-Madrid community also participated in a blood drive in English held by the Spanish Red Cross.

Learn more about how SLU-Madrid gives back on the Service and Community Outreach page.