Mount Students and Sisters Unite to Give Back
Laura Bryson // April 26, 2012
Most students at Mount Saint Vincent University are aware that the Mount’s foundation and legacy were created by the Sisters of Charity, but few students realize the impact these Sisters continue to have on us today. Not only are all of our current buildings on campus named after particular Sisters, this dedicated group of women continue to volunteer their time and give back to our community.
The coalition of nuns who are near and dear to the Mount are the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (SOC). These Sisters founded the Mount in 1873 and although their role and involvement with the university and its students has changed over the years, the Sisters are still coming up with new ways for Mount students to volunteer their time and give back to their communities.
The SOC have created a volunteer program for youth under 30, called the Living Charity Volunteer Program. Living Charity aims to involve Mount students in particular, and is an initiative of the Seton Spirituality Centre in Terrence Bay. The Sisters at the Centre wanted to create a unique opportunity for Mount students to give back. They believe that these youth might even create their own legacy on campus, for other Mount students to follow.
“We needed to do something to address a need,” said Sister Evelyn Williams, the Halifax-born program coordinator at the Seton Spirituality Centre. “The needs I see are to awaken or nurture, within university-aged folks, their need to pay back, their need to serve the less fortunate, and their need to be with organizations that are making a change… and so the Volunteer program was born.”
Sister Evelyn, who has been with the Centre for 16 years, says “it has been rewarding for us to see the enthusiasm for this program from Mount Students.”
This is the first year for the Living Charity Volunteer Program, which will take place from April 27th to May 12th. Seven young women, three of whom are Mount students, will move into the Seton Spirituality Centre with the Sisters. Youth will spend their days volunteering at various non-profit organizations around HRM.
“The Sisters of Charity have played a huge part in what we do at this school,” says Mount student and Living Charity participant Susan Gillespie. “I wanted to get in touch with them and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
With Living Charity, youth can choose from a variety of non-profits in HRM, according to where they can use their “gifts” to best serve others.
When asked why youth should volunteer for Living Charity, Sister Evelyn replies that it “gives someone an opportunity. I am a firm believer that in everyone’s heart, once they reach a point of gratitude in their own lives, they want to help others. They want to reach out, to pay back, and we provide opportunities for that.”
Sister Evelyn says (laughingly) that the value of a volunteer program like this is that “the young women who volunteer with us will be affirmed in their skills – or lack there of.” However, she emphasizes that youth will be placed in a supportive environment and will gain invaluable experience that can help them much later in life.
Although this is just the first year for the Living Charity program, Sister Evelyn is sure that the program will be put in place again next year and is hoping for even more enthusiasm and involvement from youth at the Mount.
It is through creating volunteer programs like Living Charity that the SOC continue to involve themselves and give back. The SOC have always had a visible presence within the Mount community, and will continue to do so in their quiet way.
The ties between the SOC and our beloved school have never fully disappeared: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton established the first religious congregation of Sisters in the United States and spent her life caring for sick children. Sister Mary Evaristus Moran was the Mount’s first president. Through her tireless efforts, our school was able to grant women degrees in Education, Nursing, and Arts. Then there was Sister Maria Rosaria Gorman, the Mount’s second president. Sister Rosaria saw our school’s only building at the time, the original Motherhouse, destroyed by a horrific fire and then she saw it rebuilt, stronger than ever.
The connections between Mount students and the SOC are just waiting to be explored, and it is through programs like Living Charity that this bond will grow stronger yet.
Our University’s past is intricately entwined with the Sisters of Charity’s and, without them, our beautiful learning institution would not exist. It is important to give due credit to these Sisters and recognize all that they have done for our school. With that being said, it is equally important to strengthen these connections, and involve ourselves in modern-day Sisters of Charity programs that continue their legacy of community outreach.
