Service in the City

Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ is distinguished by our students and graduates who put their faith into action to create a more loving, just and inclusive world. Whether it's for one afternoon, one week, or all semester, University Ministry's Service in the City provides students an opportunity to engage with our local community through service, solidarity, reflection and advocacy. Our goal is to provide students with an opportunity to grow in solidarity with our city, to serve in our local community, to learn about the intersectionality of systemic injustice and reflect on their personal experience of immersing in one of our local service sites. Service in the City is a great opportunity to engage in learning outside of the classroom. Plus, you'll have fun with other students while you're at it!

Our Service in the City program is open to all current UDM students and you can sign up to participate by visiting the University Ministry office, located in the lower level of the Student Union (across from the Bookstore), by finding us on Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ Live, or emailing us at ministry@udmercy.edu. All new tutors must complete a Service in the City orientation with University Ministry prior to starting at your service site.

As a Catholic, Jesuit and Mercy institution, our mission calls us not just to serve in the community, but to live in solidarity with one another. This experience of service and solidarity invites us into the deeper questions of why people are hungry, excluded, economically poor, or suffering into the work of social justice (to understand systemic injustice and to advocate for more loving and equitable world). Service is about giving of oneself to another, but our mission invites us beyond service into a deeper sense of solidarity or interconnectedness with one another. We want our students to grow in a sense of solidarity with our city!

In the links below, you will lean more about our Jesuit and Mercy traditions, especially in the ways in which they invite us to be, "Men and women, persons, with and for others."

Service in the City Tutoring Program

The tutoring program connects Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ students with  , and . Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ students tutor, in person, on a weekly basis at one of these three educational organizations. Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ students are asked to make a semester-long commitment to tutoring once a week for approximately one hour and to attend at least one orientation, two educational reflection meetings, and one end-of-semester reflection event. Reflection meetings are offered monthly to engage students in the process of unpacking their experience of tutoring and immersing in one of the two local Detroit communities, listening and learning from each other's insights, challenges and joys as well as engaging in dialogue around key systemic and social justice issues encountered during their time at their site. Students are also invited from time to time to attend various athletic events or social activities at either location or participate in activities or social programs in which students from their communities might come to Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ's McNichols Campus. These activities are optional but provide an important opportunity to grow in our mutual sense of community with one another.

Sessions

Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ students need only attend one session per week at one of the locations. Generally, students need to provide their own transportation to and from their site however students often carpool together. Occasionally, University Ministry can assist with transportation needs. The typical tutoring schedule is as follows:

Loyola High School: 

  • Monday: 3-4 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 3-4 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 3-4 p.m.
  • Thursday: 3-4 p.m.

La Casa Guadalupana:

  • Tuesday: 3:45-5:45 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 3:45-4:45 p.m.
  • Thursday: 3:45-5:45 p.m.

Brilliant Detroit:

  • Monday: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 3-6 p.m.
  • Thursday: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
For More Information click the video above.