Community Service

Service is an integral part of the student experience at Rockhurst University.  Rockhurst students give over 20,000 hours annually in service to others.  Service at Rockhurst is voluntary, but more than 80 percent of students participate in service projects during their Rockhurst education.

Service to others provides an opportunity to reflect on the broader issues that shape our world.  Through service, Rockhurst students come to ask important questions about the injustices found in our society.  Reflecting on these issues helps students learn that their decisions have economic and moral implications for others and future generations.  Service is at the heart of Jesuit education because through service we use the gifts we have developed and put them into action to transform the world, making it a better place for us all. 

Voluntary community service may be a one-time, short-term project or a lengthy, on-going commitment by a group or an individual.  Community service connects to the educational and Jesuit mission of Rockhurst University.  Rockhurst students engage in community service with a wide variety of community organizations across Kansas City, the nation, and even the world.  Projects organized by Rockhurst reach beyond the campus to directly impact community livelihood.  In practicing community service, the direct or primary benefit of service should extend beyond the campus and groups in which the volunteer is a member.

The Jesuit Challenge

"You are called by the Society of Jesus to be men and women who reflect upon the reality of the world around you with all its ambiguities, opportunities, and challenges, to discern what is really happening in your life and in the lives of others, to find God there and to discover where God is calling you, to employ criteria for significant choices that reflect Godly values rather than narrow, exclusive self-interest, to make decisions in the light of what is truly for the greater glory of God and the service of those in need, and then to act accordingly."

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S/U.

Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 1997

There are many resources on campus to help students discover how they can serve. As you look through these pages, you’ll find helpful information and contacts.

Engage Rockhurst is a website with opportunities to service and community partner information. 

The Center for Service Learning is your campus resource for connecting service to your coursework.