Villanova University Celebrates 18th Annual St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service
VILLANOVA, Pa. (September 26, 2023) — Villanova University will celebrate the 18th annual St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service on Saturday, September 30, with more than 4,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the University serving alongside local organizations and neighborhood agencies. Villanovans will serve at more than 100 service sites throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, along with hundreds of alumni serving at sites across the United States.
Aligning with Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic mission, the day of service is a celebration of the University’s values of Veritas, Unitas, Caritas—Truth, Unity and Love. It is also one of the Delaware Valley’s largest single-day community service events. Each year, Villanova volunteers collectively perform thousands of hours of service work, providing vital support to charitable causes and organizations ranging from food pantries and community gardens to local schools and homeless shelters.
“The St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service is a wonderful opportunity for us to join together as a community, to live out our University mission, and to make a powerful impact on communities and organizations in need,” said University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. “I look forward to this event each fall, and I anticipate another great year for this important Villanova tradition.”
Named for the University’s patron saint—a 16th-century Augustinian bishop who devoted his life to helping the poor and disenfranchised—the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service stresses the importance of reflection, compassion and engagement throughout the coming year.
The event is one of many opportunities hosted throughout the year for the Villanova community to help those in need. In addition to participating in weekly outreach opportunities at Philadelphia-area social service and charitable organizations, Villanovans regularly engage in a wide variety of long-term mentoring and service break experiences—as well as ongoing Habitat for Humanity home-building projects.
The St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service is organized by the Day of Service Committee, made up of 35 students in addition to Villanova faculty and staff members.
For more information on the 2023 event, please visit www.villanova.edu/stvc.
About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.