Monks run great Campus Ministry Program

This winter Saint Vincent College students have been collecting small stuffed animals to distribute to disadvantaged children in Brazil and Taiwan.

A total of 479 stuffed animals were collected. The students will ship the animals to the locations where they will engage in service work this spring and summer. The spring break service trip to Brazil is from February 25 to March 4. While in Brazil the students will work with the Missionary Sisters of Christ and the children in the Sisters’ schools: Casa de Crianca and Aprenzizado do Dom José Gasper. The schools were founded to keep children who live in the favelas, or slums, off the street and to improve their quality of life and hope for the future.

The service trip to Taiwan will be in July. While in Taiwan, the students will work at Cathwel Service, an orphanage for 120 students who are born with disabilities or serious illness; as well as for those who are abandoned or parentless because their families are not able or interested in caring for them. In addition to the orphanage, the students will also live and work in a remote mountain village where they extend this same love and compassion to not only children but also to the elderly.

Through these service trips, the Saint Vincent students give of their time and love to transcend language, age and cultural barriers.