USF Culture for Service
USF students uphold the campus motto, “Culture for Service,” by taking an afternoon to serve around the Sioux Falls community.
On a beautiful late September day, over 200 students participated in USF’s first ever Fall Service Day. Typically at the beginning of USF’s school year only freshmen and student leaders serve the Sioux Falls community during Freshman Orientation, however, this year Student Development took a different route.
“It just worked really well with assessment day. The faculty are all in workshops for the afternoon and rather than just making a day off and communicating that there’s nothing going on that afternoon just got home we said let’s make this an opportunity for redeeming the day a little bit,” Ross says.
Students served in over 20 different locations around the area including The Ronald McDonald House, Boys and Girls Club and Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation.
“We just have lots of opportunities to go out to our community both literally right outside of USF community and the neighbors that we share streets with and then no further hitting every corner and every area of Sioux Falls,” Hofer says.
Ross says that Service Day is important because it encourages students to be life-long servants.
“It creates habits in our student’s hearts and in our own hearts. We may not always know why we’re doing it or what we’re doing but it’s creating a habit,” Ross says.
Hofer says that seeing USF create connections with the Sioux Falls community is exciting and seeing USF students serve in big or small ways.
“We create change in our community. We get to be a big part of giving back to our community and tying into our community. There’s just something special that happens when you serve,” Hofer says.
To find out about more opportunities to serve the Sioux Falls community, talk to Campus Pastor Dennis Thum, students involved in Campus Ministries or attend the next Service Core meeting on October 23rd at 8pm in the Cleveland Center Idea Lab.
Story by Ellie Herman, Jade Roozenboom, & Abriana Scholl
