The best way to fulfill one's obligations of justice and love is to contribute to the common good according to one's means and the needs of others, and also to promote and help public and private organizations devoted to bettering the conditions of life.
Pope Paul VI - Encyclical Letter Gaudium et Spes
The Division of Volunteer Efforts currently works with over ten local agencies six days a week. Programs range from student mentoring, visiting the elderly in nursing homes to serving the poorest of the poor on soup kitchen lines in downtown Newark. DOVE provides transportation to and from all of our sites. Each group is also accompanied by a trained, student coordinator.
Our office also plans various, campus-wide programs encompassing the SHU community. In the past we have conducted Food and Turkey Drives for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness in November, toy drives for those in need inAppalachia,West Virginia, ARC Carnivals (catering to disabled guests from local group homes), letter writing for St. Jude Children's Hospital and SHU 500+ - a day of service, in which over 1,500 Seton Hall students, faculty, staff and alumni participate. For more information about this programs, please see our Special Events page.
Another component of DOVE is international service. Each year, student applicants are selected to join a team and travel to San Miguel, El Salvador. Here, they live in solidarity with the poor and serve those in need. Some of our sites include an orphanage; a special needs school, a nursing home and a home for at risk teens. The program has grown considerably over the past two years and we have expanded this program, allowing two trips per academic year. Pictures and student testimony from various trips can be found on the El Salvador page.
