A Loyola education, firmly rooted in the Jesuit tradition, insists that service and outreach programs should be “at the core of every Jesuit university’s program of studies” (Kolvenbach 2000). At the Center for Community Service and Justice, we specialize in developing and offering service programs which are also educational.
Service and justice are inextricably linked. Community service activities involve work with people who are marginalized in some way: people in need of food, shelter, and tutoring. Service activities help ensure people’s comfort, success, and, in some cases, survival.
When we engage in service, however, we hope to not be content with the act of service itself, but instead our hope is that it provokes us to ask the question “Why?” Why do we need to be here serving this food? Why are the city schools not able to provide an adequate education for these children? Why are so many people in our city struggling to survive?
It is that “Why?” question which leads us to justice – the longer, broader, more systemic view. Our Jesuit and Christian mandate says that love of our neighbors means working to promote their dignity and ensuring their long-term health and safety.
We welcome and encourage all members of the Loyola community to join in our mission. Learn more about:
CCSJ offers three types of service experiences:
CCSJ also promotes justice education through speakers, workshops and trips that allow attendees to explore and think critically about issues that threaten the peaceful, healthy existence of individuals in local, national and international communities.
CCSJ houses and collaborates with the office of service-learning by sharing knowledge regarding potential community partner agencies and assisting in the mission of "education through service."