Gifts to Service Immersion Trips contribute to...
Illuminate Lives: Support Our Service Immersion Experiences
What are Immersions? At the heart of a transformative Jesuit and Mercy education are service immersion trips. These experiences are the embodiment of our commitment to service and social justice. They offer students the chance to engage with shelters, soup kitchens, after-school projects, urban farms, and numerous vital community-based initiatives. It's not just about service; it's about cultural learning, building relationships, hearing from local community leaders, daily prayer, and evening reflection. Our aim is to guide students on a lifelong path toward becoming "men and women with and for others." We believe that these experiences mold student leaders with critical minds and compassionate hearts.
Winter and Spring Break Journeys:
During winter and spring breaks, our students embark on journeys across the United States. These trips offer direct service opportunities, immersion in diverse perspectives and local cultures, and education about systemic injustices. Our immersion trips enable students to apply their classroom learning to real-world experiences, fostering a deeper understanding of our Jesuit and Mercy values and offering direct service opportunities. Each trip has a unique focus or social justice theme, designed to immerse students in a broader understanding of diverse perspectives, experiences, and histories.
Four Pillars of All Immersion Experiences:
- Simplicity: Reconnecting with what is essential, valuing relationships over material possessions, and listening to the voices of others, our inner selves, and of God. Living simply during these experiences.
- Social Justice: Investigating and addressing the root causes of injustice, asking why injustices occur, and taking steps to change unjust systems.
- Solidarity: Recognizing our common humanity and shared responsibility for one another.
- Spirituality: Engaging with experiences, reflecting together, and listening to the guidance of faith. Sharing prayer and engaging in evening theological reflection.
2023-2024 Immersion:
- St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN:
- Dates: March 2 - 10, 2024
- Partner Agency: White Violet Eco-Justice Center
The Need for Your Support:
As we continue to offer these transformative service immersion experiences, we rely on the generous support of our community. The cost of each trip varies based on location and program, typically ranging from $500 to $800. This all-inclusive amount covers transportation, lodging, meals, museum fees, and a donation to the host organization. While we do our best to keep these costs accessible to our students, we need your help to bridge the financial gap.
How You Can Make a Difference:
Your support can make a profound impact on the lives of our students. By contributing to our service immersion trips, you enable students to:
- Embrace the spirit of service and social justice.
- Gain new perspectives, cultural insights, and a deeper understanding of systemic injustices.
- Develop critical minds and compassionate hearts.
- Strengthen their connection with our Jesuit and Mercy values.
Your donation helps provide scholarships, covers trip expenses, and ensures that our students can continue to engage in these life-changing experiences.
Join Us in Making a Difference:
You can be a part of this transformative journey and help shape the leaders of tomorrow. Your donation, no matter the size, is a step toward creating a brighter, more compassionate future. By supporting our service immersion trips, you become a beacon of hope for our students, empowering them to become "men and women with and for others."
Donate Today: To contribute, please visit our donation page on our website and select "Service Immersion Trips" as your designated fund. Your generous support will help us continue to illuminate lives, fostering a generation of compassionate leaders dedicated to making the world a better place.
Thank you for being the driving force behind our students' transformative experiences. Your support is the key to making our service immersion trips possible.
You can make a one time gift or choose to make a larger gift over time by choosing the recurring gift option.
Donations by check can be made out to University of Detroit Mercy with Service Immersion Trips in the memo line and sent to:
University Advancement
University of Detroit Mercy
4001 W. McNichols
Detroit, MI 48221
