Our Crowdfunding Groups
We are comprised of 13 Duquesne University students, from various educational programs who are all interested in social justice and following the Duquesne mission. We will participate in a Cross-Cultural Mission Experience (CCME) in Dayton, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. This is the fourth year Duquesne students will immerse themselves into these communities and work with the community members, learn and understand their hardships, and grow in faith.
We will be traveling from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, March 3, 2018. From there, we will travel to Dayton, Ohio until we return back to Duquesne University on March 11th.
In Chicago, Illinois, we will join the St Ambrose congregation for Mass on the first Sunday of our trip. In Chicago, we will be working with low-income women, and we will also serve families by assisting a local food bank and soup kitchen. We will spend one day at the Soup Kitchen hosted by the Kenwood United Church of Christ. We will also spend one day working with Margaret’s Village, a woman’s homeless shelter.
Midweek, our group will then travel to Dayton, Ohio to see firsthand the effects of urban decline and deindustrialization. We will be working with St. Benedict the Moor parish, assisting them with renovations to their school and working with students. The diocese of Dayton recently withdrew its support of this catholic school, but the church community decided the school must remain open as an option for families in the neighborhood. This change caused the school to scale back its services so there is currently only 6 grade levels: kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade.
We are planning to use the funds raised to purchase a piece of playground equipment, which goes toward the larger playground project for the students at St. Benedict the Moor School in Dayton. When we began, the playground was only an empty lot and the children are still in need of structured play equipment. In the last couple of years, we have been able to provide the children with various board games, educational material, and other recreational equipment. Our ultimate goal is to raise enough money to acquire a swing set for the children, the cost of which is around $700. Any amount you are able to donate will help us reach our goal of providing the children of St. Benedict the Moor School with a piece of playground equipment that will last for years.
Any funds raised that are not needed for playground improvements will be used for school supplies for the children or on one of the projects we will be working on in Chicago.
We ask that you consider making a donation to our campaign today and help spread the word by sharing a link to this page on social media!
