Last time I posted, I wrote about a very exciting trip to Washington, D.C. This time I want to share with you a new initiative put out by the White House that our program will be participating in next year – the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge. This challenge, hosted by the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, asks educational institutions like the University of Michigan to bring students from different faith backgrounds together for a single purpose, work together in service, and spend an entire year in dialogue and service together. The University of Michigan is one of more than 300 campuses nationwide participating in this exciting challenge.
We are lucky to have an incredible group of students who are excited to be part of this challenge who are working with Interfaith Action. A continuation of our “Better Together” campaign, our students have decided to address issues of sexual assault and domestic violence in faith communities – an area that is so often not dealt with in faith communities.
Our plan has three parts that work together: an intra-faith component, an interfaith component, and a service initiative. Our students will work first to create dialogues around this topic in their own communities, and then come together to have dialogues across communities and around campus. At the same time, we will have campus-wide service projects for members of all faith communities – working with both campus and community partners like SAPAC and SafeHouse to raise money and physical goods (clothing, personal hygiene items, etc.).
This challenge is a great way to really highlight interfaith work on campuses, and the University of Michigan is excited about the upcoming year! Part of our program for the next year will include a blog, so please check our website to stay updated: http://ginsberg.umich.edu/interfaith-action
No comments:
Post a Comment