Elms College offers a number of weeklong service opportunities in destinations in the U.S. and abroad.
This January, we sent students to Baltimore to work with Catholic Charities, helping those in need. Yesterday, a group of eight worked in Maryland's largest soup kitchen and spent time at Sarah's House, a transitional housing program.
The goals of the service trips are to teach community building, to further the mission of the college and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, to implement the Catholic social teachings that form the base of the Elms experience, to instill the importance of cultural sensitivity and service to others, and to teach students how to safely conduct themselves in new environments and cultures.
Students pay their own way, but there are numerous school-sponsored fundraisers, and they also can solicit individual sponsors to finance the trip. Every trip is led by student leaders, overseen by faculty and staff.