QU | Franciscan Focus
Day of Service
by Pasha Yates ’15
>> The economic impact that the Quincy University community made in one day.
As a part of the Franciscan mission to serve others, over 700 QU students and employees participated in QU’s annual Day of Service, during Franciscan Heritage Week this past October. The QU community served 35 different organizations in the Quincy community and surrounding area. In addition, 1,300 pounds of food was donated to Horizons Food Pantry during the food drive. Every QU student is required to complete Franciscan service hours during their time at QU. On this day – the students are asked to step back and look beyond the requirement; look beyond the hours spent doing yardwork, painting, cleaning storage rooms, folding clothes, etc. 700 people came together for four hours, resulting in 2,800 hours of service. 22
QUniverse | Winter 2019
The Independent Sector, a national membership organization for non-profits, values volunteers at $24.14 per hour. This adds up to $67,592…and that’s just a dollar amount. The men, women, children, veterans, elderly, animals, and businesses are impacted by service. Every organization that was served, touches the lives of thousands of people each year. Quincy University is rooted in its core values – respect, care of creation, peace and justice, servant leader, wisdom, hospitality, service-learning, inclusivity, diversity, and reflective stance. The Day of Service provides QU students and employees the opportunity to put those core values into action throughout the community.
