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JCU Summer in the City Internship Showcase

Join CSSA for the Summer in the City Internship Showcase in the O'Connell Reading Room in Dolan Science Center on Wednesday, November 2 from 5:30-6:30 PM.

Learn about CSSA's paid summer internship program from the Summer 2022 interns and community partners, including the work and research that students conducted during the program. Find out all that you need to know to submit a successful application to be part of the Summer 2023 cohort!

Interns in the program explore the systems and structures behind many of the current social issues of our times, gain valuable experience, and are matched with an organization based on their interests, goals, and aspirations. These paid internships are open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Internship applications open on November 1, 2022.

Are you interested in attending the Showcase this fall or applying for an internship next summer?
Click here to express interest!
Calling All Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students, and Undergraduate Students to Sign up for One-Time Service Opportunities!
Have a busy schedule, but still want to participate in service? Check out the One-Time Service Opportunities that we offer throughout the semester!
Greater Cleveland Food Bank

  • Wednesday, October 26 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM
  • Thursday, November 3 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

The volunteer tasks may include:
  • Sorting through and repackaging Incoming Nonperishable, Perishable, and Non-food Donations
  • Shelf-stable Emergency Food Box Packaging
  • Commodity Supplemental Food Program Box Packaging
  • Backpacks for Kids Kit Assembly
  • Kids' Cafe/Summer Feeding Lunch Packaging

Transportation to and from the Food Bank is provided. Make sure to register on both GivePulse AND the Food Bank link on the GivePulse Page.
MedWish International

  • Saturday, November 5 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
  • Saturday. November 19 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

MedWish helps to re-purpose discarded medical supplies, and our volunteers help with this process. We collect tens of thousands of pounds of donated supplies each month and rely on volunteers to help us sort through these supplies, checking expiration dates and ensuring product viability.

Sorting takes place through a number of different steps, and volunteers can expect to participate in all steps of the process (examples include sorting medical supplies into categories, matching similar items together, boxing, and labeling inventory).

No medical experience is necessary!
Fatima Family Center Annual Breakfast Benefit

  • Saturday, November 5 from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Fatima Family Center needs volunteers to help at their annual Breakfast Benefit. This is an annual fundraiser for Fatima that helps to bring together the community and provide financial support for Fatima.

Volunteers will help serve and facilitate Fatima Family Center's Annual Breakfast Benefit. This event will require students to help distribute breakfast and facilitate during the scheduled program. Students should wear warm clothing and comfortable shoes because you will be going in and out of the building to the parking lot.

Breakfast is provided! For more details about Fatima, click here!
Boulevard Elementary School Market Days

  • Tuesday, November 15 from 12:45 PM to 2:45 PM
  • Tuesday, November 15 from 2:15 PM to 4:45 PM

The Cleveland Food Bank provides bulk fruits and vegetables to the Boulevard Elementary community. Beginning at 1:00 pm the team will bag and box the food items to be placed in the trunk of cars. The car drive-through is in the parking lot from 2:30-4:30 pm. Then the boxes are broken down and the remaining food is redistributed. The Market Day program is a way for Boulevard Elementary families and local area families in need to receive healthy food staples in a convenient way.

Transportation to and from Boulevard Elementary is provided. Please wear closed-toed shoes and warm clothing as this event is outdoors.
Cleveland Clinic Stephanie Tubbs Health Center Mobile Food Pantry

  • Saturday, November 19 from 8:40 AM to 12:20 AM

The volunteer tasks may include:
  • Help sort food items to community members experiencing food insecurity
  • Help repack food items to community members experiencing food insecurity
  • Help distribute food items to community members experiencing food insecurity

This activity will take place at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center, a branch of the Cleveland Clinic.
For all one-time opportunities, click here!

Questions? Contact service@jcu.edu. Tell your friends!
8th Annual Community Partner Meeting: Networks of Connection

CSSA hosted its 8th Annual Community Partner Meeting and welcomed guests from its more than 90 community partner organizations around Cleveland on Friday, October 21 at the historic Dunham Tavern and Museum, the oldest standing building in Cleveland.

This year's meeting theme was "Networks of Connection," with emphasis on how organizations and individuals can network and collaborate together. Executive Director of the Cleveland Public Library, Felton Thomas, Jr., was the keynote speaker. The meeting also featured talks by Naomi Sigg, VP of DEIB at John Carroll, and Director of CSSA, Sr. Katherine Feely. Additionally, guests were led in a networking presentation by the Cleveland Leadership Center and heard from a student panel about their experiences in service-learning.

CSSA is grateful for all of the organizations who open their doors to welcome John Carroll students and create lasting impact in communities throughout Cleveland!
How to Grad School: Graduate Student Panel & Luncheon

Are you a first-semester graduate student trying to navigate the transition to grad school? Are you an undergraduate student planning to pursue grad school?

Attend the How To Grad School: Graduate Student Panel & Luncheon on Tuesday, October 25 from 12-1 p.m. This event will be hybrid, occurring in person in the O’Dea Conference Room in the D.J. Lombardo Student Center and virtually via Zoom.

You’ll have the opportunity to meet current graduate students and learn from their unique experiences across different graduate programs. Whether you’re transitioning from the workforce or undergrad, these exceptional panelists will share insights to help you along your graduate student journey!

Sponsored by the University Counseling Center and Graduate School

Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. RSVP required.
Wilson Ha '25

Major: Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience

Hometown: Medina, Ohio

Favorite Quote: "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

Because of my service-learning experience, I am a more empathetic, flexible, patient, and compassionate person. I have a better understanding of myself, both in retrospect to my personality and habits - but also how I fit into a society based upon my identity. It is important to understand yourself before trying to understand others. I also feel more inclined to see the fun and opportunity for growth or learning in working with others in service or any new endeavors that I embark on.

To be fully present in service, I had to unlearn the assumption that I fully understood the perspectives and experiences of others and that they fully understood mine. I had to unlearn that others would understand certain cultural markers I grew up with and benefit from the privileges that I have been afforded. I had to unlearn sympathy and learn empathy. By doing this, it has helped me build better connections with others when I serve with and for them. 

One way in which I have allowed myself to be changed as a result of getting to know people from my service experiences is that I now think deeper about the reason for serving with others. Service learning is so much more than volunteering once a year. Systemic issues that affect all of us do not go away after one day of service from an individual. My engagement in service learning has led me to develop a desire to not only comprehend other people’s perspectives but to understand the systems that have influenced our life experiences and privileges. From here, I can better understand the flaws of those systems and how to change or dismantle these systems.
Sophia Ruse '24

Major: Integrated Marketing Communications

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Favorite Quote: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
- Philippians 4"13

One day I received a GroupMe message about an opportunity to help plan and be on the team for Jesuit Day of Service (JDOS). I messaged them back immediately to let them know I was interested. I had no prior knowledge of this event. I did a little bit of research, and I realized the importance of JDOS. JDOS is the biggest service event on campus where students do service around Cleveland. A few weeks later, I received an email that I would be the assistant
coordinator and eventually take it over in the future. Service has always been a crucial part of my life, but I didn't realize the impact this event would have on my John Carroll career. I am officially a Junior and can't wait for this year's JDOS (happening in April)!!! I have been surrounded by this community and organization of CSSA my entire JCU career, and they have truly impacted and inspired me. We have weekly meetings the entire Spring semester to prepare for this event. These meetings made me realize how much the CSSA staff impacted me. Each individual in the office has done something for JDOS. They order the supplies, print attendance sheets, charge the walkie-talkies, get the supplies ready, and so much more. The people in the office are there for a reason and truly allow this event to run smoothly. Beyond helping, these people have inspired me to be the best I can be for others. The staff will do anything for others and show their support to each individual that walks into the office. They are the people that I strive to be for others.
Get Connected! Stay Informed!

Follow us on social media to get the latest news from CSSA, learn about upcoming opportunities, find ways to stay connected and engaged, read posts by featured students, and learn about all of the great things happening in the Center for Service-Learning and Social Action! We post frequent updates daily, so be sure to stay tuned in!

Connect with us NOW to join the fun!


Instagram: @jcu_cssa



Facebook: @JCUCSSA




Twitter: @jcu_cssa



Dr. Katherine Feely, SND, Ed.D  | Director |   kfeely@jcu.edu   | 216.397.1966
Heather Craigie | Associate Director | hcraigie@jcu.edu |216.397.6233
John Jackson  | Asst. Dir. Community Partnerships | jnjackson@jcu.edu  |  216.397.1662
Blake Yoho | Asst. Dir. Data and Communications | byoho@jcu.edu | 216.397.2024
Maggie Klem | Graduate Assistant |  mklem20@jcu.edu | 216.397.6283
Maddie Panus | Data Analytics Intern | mpanus23@jcu.edu 
Anna Glass | Marketing Intern | aglass24@jcu.edu
JCU Center for Service-Learning and Social Action
Administration Building | AD-32
service@jcu.edu | 216.397.4698