Loyola 4 Chicago
Service - Justice - Community
Loyola4Chicago is a Community Service and Action program in which students provide once-weekly volunteer service in Chicago during the academic year. Join 200 of your peers in this fulfilling Loyola tradition!
Applications for Fall 2024 are now closed, we will open applications for Spring semester in January.
What do volunteers do? Students work in small groups at various sites including work with children, seniors, immigrants and refugees, folks with disabilities, and folks experiencing homelessness, among others. Some tutor, some lead activities, some play games and build community.
What is the commitment? Volunteers commit to serving once a week for one semester, with the option to reapply and return for the following semesters. Most groups last about 3 hours each week, including group travel time. In addition to each group's weekly service, the students meet twice in a semester for a reflection on their service.
How do we get to site? All volunteers are expected to travel with their group using public transportation, so you will need your U-Pass or a way to pay for the train. Each volunteer group is led by a student leader who coordinates meeting times and the route. All volunteers must travel to and from campus with their groups.
Why serve? Loyola4Chicago volunteers have the unique opportunity to better connect with our neighbors off campus and get to know the Roger's Park and Edgewater neighborhoods. Volunteers also get to meet and build friendships with Loyola students in their small groups who also value service. Volunteers are gifted opportunities to learn about their identities, skills, and deepen their roots in our community. i
Please note that some (not all) sites will require proof of vaccination, background checks and fingerprinting, and some may require Social Security numbers to initiate the background check. Some also require a government-issued ID of some kind (driver's license, passport, etc.) If you have any questions regarding this process please contact serve@luc.edu and we will help you make the best choices for you! We hope you will volunteer with us!
- To give students the opportunity to experience Chicago's diverse populations and needs through an extended urban service experience that provides reliable, consistent assistance from the Loyola community.
- To provide the opportunity for students to reflect on their experience, analyze the social systems impacting the lives of the people they work with, and foster a commitment to creating a more just society.
Service with reflection is the best and most direct way that students begin to fulfill the Jesuit educational goal of becoming “persons for others.” Working among the marginalized raises the universal questions of life's meaning and purpose. More than anything, an openness to grappling with the questions that consistent volunteer service inevitably raises is a must.
Monthly reflections organized by the student leaders consist of informal gatherings among individual groups that are an opportunity to build an understanding of the work. Any forum that provides opportunity for discussion and fun is welcome and encouraged. A few gatherings each year bring all the Loyola4Chicago groups together and share their experiences through a relaxing, supportive environment that is bound to foster relationships and present continued opportunities to become involved with working for justice through service.
Signing up for Loyola4Chicago means you are committing to serve at the same time and same place every week while classes are in session. This is an important commitment to make to our community partners. Making that commitment and not following through adversely affects the individuals we serve, the community partners we work with, and the relationship between Loyola and those partners. We ask that you only sign up for Loyola4Chicago if you are willing to make that commitment for at least one semester.
Additionally, you commit to monthly reflection sessions with your volunteer team. These conversations help us to learn about our community and ourselves through the lens of our shared service experiences.
All times include travel to and from the volunteer site.
Please note that you are committing to ONE instance of volunteering, not all. For example, you can volunteer with Jordan Community School on Tuesday *or* Wednesday. You would not volunteer both days.
| Location | Days | Times (include travel time from LSC) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centro Romero |
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday,
Friday |
2:45-6:15pm (Mon-Thurs)
|
After school program tutoring and mentoring with students ranging from grades 1-12. Centro Romero serves the Hispanic and Latine refugee and immigrant communities on the northeast side of Chicago. |
| Chicago HOPES for Kids |
Wednesdays Thursdays |
4:30-7:30pm (Weds) 3:15-6:15 (Thurs) |
Tutor kids experiencing homelessness on site at a HOPES shelter. |
| Aperion Care Wesley Place |
Tuesdays |
1:30-3:30pm |
Support older adults in the memory care community through afternoon recreational activities. |
| Envision Unlimited |
Tuesdays |
5:30-8:00pm |
Facilitate games and activities with residents in a group-living home for women with disabilities. |
| Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA) |
Monday, Thursday, Friday
Tuesday and Wednesday |
4:00-7:00pm 6:30-9:30pm (Tues, Weds) |
Provide one-on-one tutoring and support to refugee children in Rogers Park. |
| Jordan Community School: Homework Helpers |
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday |
2:45-5:15pm | Provide homework assistance for Rogers Park children |
| LivingWorks |
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays |
3:30-5:45pm | Support academic enrichment and extracurricular activities for elementary school children in Rogers Park. |
| Misericordia |
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday |
5:45-8:30pm 2-4:30pm (Tues) 5:45-8:50pm |
Join residents of this campus for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in evening activities such as yoga, team sports, and fiber arts |
| Sarah's Circle |
Mondays, Tuesdays |
3:30-6:30pm | Facilitate games and activities with women residents staying at this shelter site |
