The Meelia Center for Community Service at Saint Anselm College opened its doors in 1989 with the goal of mobilizing the talent and energy of Saint Anselm students to respond to the service needs of the greater Manchester Community. From the beginning the Center has been blessed by a student body eager to get involved in the community, and a community willing to support students engaged in service and service leadership. Highlights of the Meelia Center include:
Over 100 student volunteers and nearly 200 service-learners engage in community service each week, serving between 2-4 hours per week. The Meelia Center manages service-learning for the college. Service-learning is an educational strategy that allows students to apply important course concepts through significant service to the community. Each semester up to 10 percent of the student body chooses to participate in service-learning in one of their classes. Currently service-learning is an option in nearly 50 classes in 15 academic departments. The Center hosts about six major service events on campus each year, and sends hundreds of volunteers to off campus service events. More than 800 students participate in these one-day service events each year. The Center utilizes a student leadership corps of 40 plus students to coordinate its community partnerships, organize service events, and even manage the office. For example, the assistant director, office manager and the information and Web managers are all students. The Meelia Center maintains 16 community partnerships with agencies ranging from a nursing home and public schools to adult and juvenile correctional facilities. In addition, volunteers and service-learners are sent to help out at any of 30 additional non-profits each year. The work of the center has been significantly enhanced through a generous gift from Richard and Judy Meelia in 2000. Their faith and kindness guides the center as we help the college to build the skills, knowledge, and passion to make our world a better place to live and grow.
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