By Nate West
News Editor
Francis Week will feature a new ending this year. For the first time, the Campus Service Day will mark the end of the campus-wide celebration of the life and times of Francis of Assisi.
“When we celebrate Francis Week, there are many speakers and there’s different activities going on,” Sister Suzanne Kush, director of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern, said. “Francis would go about the town of Assisi being of service to his neighbor wherever there was need. We’re hoping the students of the university become engaged in service outside the university.”
The Day of Service is on Saturday, Oct. 5, at seven locations throughout the community where students can get involved: the Genesis House, Mt. Irenaeus, the Olean Chamber of Commerce, St. Mary of the Angels Parish, Canticle Farm and the Immanuel Lutheran Church, a BonaResponds event in Delevan, N.Y.
Sister Suzanne said she believes this is a good way for students to help out in the community they’re a part of outside Bonaventure.
“We laugh when we say the ‘Bona bubble,’ it’s almost a joke around here,” Sister Suzanne said. “We are a part of a community. The community in many ways supports us in many of our endeavors. They accept us because we’re a part of the neighborhood, and this is a way for students to reach out, help and really be a good neighbor.”
The March of Dimes walk will be taking place at the same time. Kush said the two are working in collaboration, since March of Dimes serves the Olean-Allegany community. There is also collaboration with BonaResponds. Kush said when the planning for the 2013 Campus Service Day was taking place during summer, she let Jim Mahar, faculty adviser to BonaResponds, know that it was a campus-wide event.
Brother Ed Coughlin, O.F.M., vice president for Franciscan Mission and dean of the School of Franciscan Studies, said service was a key part of Francis’ life, so it’s fitting for the Campus Day of Involvement to be the culmination of Francis Week.
“(Francis) has always inspired people to take up his commitment to service, and especially his service to the poor and marginalized,” Brother Ed said. “We have many examples of doing that around St. Bonaventure with the Warming House, Bona Buddies and Bona Responds. This simply presents us with another opportunity to invite people to be a part of a service experience. We’re just trying to keep it a part of people’s Bonaventure experience.”
