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Office of Mission and Identity Launches HOPE Initiative to Thank SLU Community

by Maggie Rotermund on 03/03/2022

03/03/2022

As the Lenten season begins, Saint Louis University’s Office of Mission and Identity wants to recognize the sacrifice and hard work of SLU faculty and staff over the past two years. The Office is launching HOPE (Hanging On to the Promise of Emergence) as a way to thank the SLU community for going above and beyond since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOPE

“The promises of spring and new life are beginning to emerge all around us,” said David Suwalsky, S.J., vice president for mission and identity. “As we approach the 2-year mark of the COVID lockdown, the Office of Mission & Identity is honored to provide this small gesture of hope to express our immense sense of gratitude to the generous community that is SLU.”

Mission and Identity staff have put together a small gift of a gladiola bulb and a thank you note. The note reads:

Thank you for being a person of HOPE! These seemingly endless months of strain and stress have taken a toll on us all, but you – yes YOU – have gone above and beyond to make a big difference. Your spirit of kindness and generosity stands out and we want to thank you living out the SLU mission with such selflessness and dedication. This is the second of Lent, the season of springtime, when the emergence of new life surrounds us in beautiful ways. This spring bulb is a small token of our appreciation for your commitment to HOPE, for being a person of HOPE here at SLU. Take it home, keep it here, or gift it to a colleague, but please – keep planting HOPE wherever you go! You are a valued member of our SLU community! 

Bulbs are available to all faculty and staff. To request a bulb for yourself or other colleagues, contact jesuitmission@slu.edu. Mission liaisons will be handing out bulbs in their divisions and colleges this week.

Saint Louis University’s Office of Mission and Identity ensures that the principles and traditions of Catholic, Jesuit higher education, and the mission and core values of SLU are integrated into operations, structures, programs and practices, and the formation of its students, faculty, staff, administration and board members.