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NEWS
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Mercy Center for Women hosts gift drive By Hannah Brooks
Staff writer
The Mercy Emissaries will be hosting their annual Christmas gift drive starting on Nov. 16 which will last until Dec. 10. The Mercy Emissaries is a group of staff, students and faculty that have been educated on the Sisters of Mercy and the values that they hold. They are also trained to spread their mission around campus. The gift drive supports the mercy mission as it helps the women and children who reside at the Mercy Center for Women. Per the Mercy Center for Wom-
en’s website, this shelter is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy and “is committed to enhancing the dignity of each person we serve through healing of body, mind, and spirit.” The Center provides safe and supportive housing for homeless women with or without children, connections with social service agencies and volunteers who provide a network of support, mentoring and education to both residents and women in the community. It is an environment with spiritual and ethical values. The gift drive provides gifts, not only for the children at the shelter, but for mothers as well. This
event provides joy and hope in the lives of the residents of the shelter. The items on the gift list often consist of kids’ toys, such as Barbie dolls, baby dolls, Legos, etc. Those who donate are asked not to wrap the gifts because a special day is set aside for the mothers at the shelter to wrap the gifts for their children. Unwrapped items can be dropped off in the barrel in front of the President’s office on the first floor of Old Main. For mothers, gifts such as personal care items, like lotions, perfumes, etc. are being accepted. Clothing may not be the best choice as sizing may be an issue,
but items such as scarves, hats, or mittens make good gifts. Other gift suggestions include gift-wrapping supplies; gifts for women such as daily planners, adult coloring books, and picture frames; household items such as paper towels and toilet paper; and gifts that could be good for all ages such as socks, slippers, and scarves. “Gift cards can also make a great gift, so the mothers can go to the store and purchase what they would like for their children. While we may enjoy going out and buying the gifts, it is important to remember that this drive is not about us,” said Alice Edwards,
Ph.D, as the coordinator of the 2021 drive. Cash and monetary gifts can be given to Stacey Wiley, Administrative Assistant to the President’s Office, to ensure that they are kept safe. For more information about the gift drive, including a complete list of items for the 2021 drive, please visit the Mercy Center for Women Holiday Wish List website at https://www.mcwerie.org/waysto-give/wish-list.
Contributed photo
There are many different gifts that the Mercy Center for Women gift drive is accepting. Be sure to look at the full list of accepted gifts on the Mercy Center for Women website.
Staff Senate hosts “Jeans for a Cause” By Eva Mihelich
Staff writer
For the past 10 years, Mercyhurst University Staff Senate has held an annual fundraiser to help raise money for local non-profits. Titled “Jeans for a Cause,” this fundraiser allows faculty and staff members of Mercyhurst University to dress down and wear jeans or Mercyhurst attire on Fridays with a donation of two dollars towards the chosen non-profit. This semester, the organization chosen for donations is the ANNA Shelter: a non-profit, open admission animal welfare organization. Their goal is to provide unwanted, stray, abused or neglected animals with a safe, nurturing, loving environment where they can be either reunited with their owners or placed into new life-long loving homes. This annual fundraiser is a cooperative effort to get faculty and staff members involved in the University’s mission, which Justin Ross, Ph.D, president of the Staff Senate, expressed. “What’s most interesting to me about Jeans for a Cause is that it is a very tangible way of living the mission,” said Ross.
“Sometimes it is difficult to show and articulate how we engage in the core values of the Sisters of Mercy or how we live out our mission, but this fundraiser allows those efforts to be seen: just look around on Fridays and see people wearing jeans and Mercyhurst gear to see this in real time! For me, it’s a weekly reminder of our dedication to service to others.” Often, the faculty and staff are overlooked in the campus community. It is not just students; the community involves every person who walks on campus, so they should be involved in Mercyhurst’s service mission as well. This fundraiser provides a perfect opportunity for them to show their support and gratitude for local organizations. Ross shared that it is quite common for faculty and staff to dress down each Friday during the fundraiser, which shows an overwhelming support for the non-profit chosen. Sometimes service may seem daunting or overwhelming, but what many people do not realize is that local issues are perfect opportunities to show some kindness and support. Christian Constantine, Vet-
erans Service coordinator, has been participating in “Jeans for a Cause” since 2019. He shared that he was amazed at the number of non-profits in the Erie, Pennsylvania area. “When [Ross], asked me to find a list of non-profits around here, I simply did a Google search and found a list of almost 450. I had no idea that there were that many non-profits in the Erie area,” said Constantine. In the past, Mercyhurst University Staff Senate has chosen non-profits such as the Bloom Collaborative, Hospice of MetContributed photo ropolitan Erie, House of Mercy, Mission 22 and the Emmaus Soup Kitchen. These are all organizations that do such good for the community, so giving back to them is the University’s way of showing appreciation for the kindness they bring to Erie. This semester, if you see faculty and staff in jeans and Mercyhurst attire, you’ll know that they are supporting a worthy cause and living out the core values of the Sisters of Mercy. To donate to Jeans for a Cause, visit https:// Contributed photo hurstalumni.wufoo.com/forms/ There are numerous non-profit organizations all across Erie. The jeans-day-payments/. Hospice of Metropolitan Erie and the Emmaus Soup Kitchen are two of them.
