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Building community through service has always been a priority at Emmanuel. For the Class of 2029, it’ll also be one of their first memories of pursuing higher education in the Heart of Boston.
Rising early on the last day before the official start of the academic year, more than 360 new Saints fanned out across Boston and beyond to volunteer at food shelves, homeless shelters, and other places that meet vital community needs through the Emmanuel New Student Day of Service.
Among the volunteers was student orientation leader Mark Brown ’27, who stepped-up to accompany more than 50 classmates for cleanup duty at Boston Common. He described it as a great way for the new classmates to bond and start becoming familiar with the city.
“It definitely puts the new students out there…both at Emmanuel and the larger community of Boston,” said Brown. “I think it's a great event; to do something good and meet new people.”
The New Student Day of Service was an Emmanuel tradition for more than 20 years, before going on hiatus during the pandemic. Resuming the event was a joint effort between Mission & Ministry and the Office of Student Involvement. Campus Minister Sofia Estrada-Hannigan was the lead organizer, and she said it was great to help build on Emmanuel's longstanding ties with the community.
“Service has always been a part of Emmanuel’s culture…and this was an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Boston, which is always at the heart of what Emmanuel does and what we value,” said Estrada-Hannigan. “We sent more than 360 students out into the community to volunteer. Any who return to those organizations and stay connected is just an amazing outcome.”
Teamwork Making the Dream Work
The first weekend at Emmanuel was a busy time for Eden Hudson ’29. Originally from Fort Washington, Maryland, she moved to Boston the Saturday before Labor Day, and spent the remainder of the holiday weekend meeting new people and getting to know the community. Even so, she was happy to volunteer at the Yawkey Center Food Pantry in Dorchester, working alongside 19 of her new classmates to bag roughly 11,000 pounds of food donations.
“It’s good physical labor, and I like how we’re using teamwork to do it,” said Hudson. “We’re helping each other, while helping other people.”
Those efforts were greatly appreciated by Alicia Ridenour, who is the Senior Director of Volunteer Programs for Catholic Charities Boston. The Yawkey Center is the busiest of four pantries they operate in the area, supporting food security for more than 400 families each morning. She said volunteers play a critical role in making it happen.
“The amount of labor that it takes to process donations for hundreds of people each day is literally impossible without the support of volunteers,” said Ridenour. “They are crucial to the work that we do.”
Catholic Charities Boston has a longstanding relationship with Emmanuel through both the Dorchester Food Pantry and the St. Ambrose Family Shelter, which provides shelter, support and hope for homeless families. Nearly a dozen Emmanuel students were there for the day of service, cleaning up the playground and tending a garden that provides fresh produce for guests. Leading the group was Audrey Hammond ’25. She made volunteerism a mainstay of her time at Emmanuel through the Saints Giving Back Club, and was excited to be part of this effort.
“It’s a great, great feeling,” said Hammond. “All of these students are starting a new chapter and my time here is coming to a close, but I’m so grateful a new generation is coming in and continuing to hold these traditions, and the meaning that Emmanuel has of helping other people.”
Students Stepping Up for Important Work
Appropriately, the day of service was largely led by student volunteers, with team captains, club officers and other young leaders pitching-in to make it happen. Those connections were made through the Office of Student Involvement. Dean of Students Kristen Pierce said the response from student leaders was outstanding, but not surprising.
“Our students are such great human beings,” said Dr. Pierce. “I talked to one student who volunteered at one of the nursing homes. She’s an RA who wants to be a nurse and work with the elderly, and she could not have been happier. She just spent two weeks training to become an RA and supporting homesick students and everything else, but she was happy to get up at 7:30 a.m. and go help. It’s just inspiring.”
The students also played an important role at West Cottage Street Farm, picking beans and tomatoes for The Food Project youth development program. The Food Project hires roughly 120 Boston teens each summer to help grow fresh produce, which is both sold at affordable rates and donated within the community.
One challenge with that model is that the teens need to return to school in late August, when there’s still plenty of work to be done, explained Food Project Assistant Grower Charlotte Reynolds. She was happy to connect with the day of service during a recent discussion with an Emmanuel internship coordinator.
“I was telling her that one of the best volunteer groups we’ve ever had here was the Emmanuel women’s basketball team,” said Reynolds. “That kind of sparked me to connect with Sofia, which is how we wound up with this group here today.”
Emmanuel’s commitment to Boston and community service has always impressed Vice President of Mission & Ministry Fr. Federico Cinocca. It was one of the first things he noticed when learning about Emmanuel and it made a lasting impression. His hope is that the day of service will do likewise for the newest cohort of Saints.
“What we did this morning was a living example of that commitment. We didn’t just talk about being the 'heart of Boston,' we showed it,” he said. “By engaging with the city from day one, our new Saints began their Emmanuel journey grounded in service, connection, and purpose. It sets the tone not only for their year, but for their entire Emmanuel experience.”
