Service Immersion
Campus Ministry offers several domestic and international service immersion experiences.
Habitat for Humanity
When: Spring Break
Where: various locations
When to apply:
Cost:
Contact:
PC’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity sends over 100 students on Spring Break service trips each year,
Habitat for Humanity is an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to building homes for families living in poverty. The vision of Habitat is to build a world where everyone has a decent place to live. To date, Habitat has helped build over 500,000 decent, affordable houses and served 2.5 million people worldwide.
NOLA (New Orleans, La.) Immersion
When: last week of Winter Break
Where: New Orleans, La.
When to apply:
Cost: $200
Contact:
The purpose of the NOLA Immersion is to cultivate, through active service and the lens of faith, a sense of solidarity with people living on the margins in New Orleans, La. Participants live simply and in community together, with prayer and reflection central to the experience. The NOLA Immersion welcomes participants with a diversity of spiritual and religious backgrounds.
Pre-Immersion
The pre-immersion process begins almost a year prior to the trip. In April, fourteen students are selected as the NOLA Team for the coming academic year. The NOLA Team meets each week during Fall Semester. In October they organize the annual NOLA Meal Auction to raise funds and foster community at PC. There is an overnight retreat for all trip participants in November.
Immersion
During the last week of Winter Break, the NOLA Team travels to New Orleans to serve the community and understand the day-to-day realities of residents, neighborhoods, and community groups. Immersion into the community’s culture, music, food, faith, and stories is crucial in the development of this understanding. The NOLA Immersion includes a critical analysis of the structures (both just and unjust) which impact communities still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Post-Immersion
Returning to campus, the NOLA Team meets at least three times, and participants are encouraged to continue living the mission of the program within the PC community. The NOLA Team plans the annual NOLA Mardi Gras Celebration to educate and celebrate with peers.
International Immersions
When: upon conclusion of the spring semester in May
Where: San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala, or Kingston, Jamaica
When to apply: beginning of spring semester
Cost: $500
Contact:
Each year upon the conclusion of the spring semester in May, Providence College students along with faculty/staff leaders travel abroad to volunteer and experience different cultures.
Each immersion includes weekly meetings during the second half of the spring semester. After each immersion, participants return to Providence College for a retreat facilitated by Campus Ministry staff and student leaders.
Guatemala Immersion
Guatemala immersion participants will volunteer with the Friends of San Lucas organization – a non-profit organization that works with San Lucas Mission in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. San Lucas Tolimán is an indigenous Maya village on the shores of the beautiful Lake Atitlan in central Guatemala. Perhaps one of the most well-known missions in Guatemala, San Lucas Mission’s long-term devotion has been the enhancement and enrichment of the whole person – spiritually, intellectually, and physically – by addressing both the immediate effects of poverty and its underlying causes.
Ten students and two PC staff participate in the Guatemala Immersion each year.
Jamaica Immersion
Participants on the Jamaica Immersion volunteer with Mustard Seed Communities (MSC) in Kingston. MSC aims to uplift the most vulnerable members of society. Mustard Seed was founded in 1978 to serve communities in and around Kingston, and the organization currently serves populations in Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Zimbabwe. MSC operates several homes for the severely disabled, children with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant teens in Jamaica. Immersion participants have the opportunity to travel to these different homes to serve, learn more about MSC, and build relationships.
Eleven students and two PC staff participate in the Jamaica Immersion each year.
