Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bringing Christ's love to the world

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Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.

Join us for a day of immigration advocacy in Washington, DC!

Every year Cabrini University’s Center on Immigration coordinates a trip to the nation’s capital, to advocate for immigrant justice and lobby for immigration reform. We invite students, faculty, and staff to collaborate with us and travel to Washington, DC.

We would love to have you join us for our next advocacy day, which will take place on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Training and transportation will be provided. We ask that each participant fills out the attached Advocacy Day Form and emails the completed form to immigration@cabrini.edu.

Visit cabrini.edu/immigration for more information.

Updates from the MSCs in Central America

Recently, the Missionary Sisters in Guatemala hosted the visiting MSC International Health Commission members in working session at the Mother Cabrini Dispensary, with sisters and staff members. The purpose of the visit was to develop the second part of the evaluation of health works in view of their progress.

 

Visiting professors from Cabrini University in Radnor, PA came to Guatemala to become better acquainted with the staff of the Mother Cabrini Dispensary in order to establish forms of collaboration between the works in Guatemala and the University.

University Spring Break = Service

a young age, I was taught that it’s important to help others. My parents told me there are plenty of people in the world who are less fortunate than I am, so, I wanted to make a difference [in the lives of others.] This was my second trip to serve the people of West Virginia [and] I wouldn’t be who I am today without the experiences [the trip] gave me.

Living in the Presbyterian church in Summerville and working in the house of Jason in the Netti area made us [better understand] the effects of poverty among the West Virginia communities. After our trip, I was curious about the history behind West Virginia’s poverty and I [learned] that West Virginia’s poverty rate is one of the highest in the nation. 2017 estimates indicate that 19% of the state’s population lives in poverty, exceeding the national average of 13%. I absolutely agree because of what I saw in some of the West Virginia neighborhoods.

The seven of us had an experience of social, economic and cultural aspects of rural poverty through serving and speaking with the people who lived in the region. We had a supervisor who helped us with the tools and made our experiences fun and enjoyable. Tim (our supervisor) is an example of how people should love unconditionally and help others. Tim is the one who introduced us to Jason and helped us in helping him.

We had two major projects in Jason’s home: converting two bathrooms into a bedroom, and converting a church pulpit area into to a flat floor since the house was first a church. While serving others, we had the opportunity to share our lives through service, prayer, reflection and time that we spent together. West Virginians were so grateful even for the little things we did for them. They cared about our wellbeing and were grateful for all of us to be serving in their midst.

Shirley Dixon Celebration of Urban Education Symposium

The Center for Urban Education, Equity, and Improvement (CUEEI) will be hosting the PA-NAME Conference on March 6 and 7 https://www.pa-name.org/.   Given the mission alignment between PA-NAME and CUEEI, we decided to incorporate the annual Shirley Dixon Event into the PA-NAME conference.  Thus, the annual Shirley Dixon Celebration of Urban Education will be held on Friday March 6 (530-730pm).

This year’s keynote speaker is the dynamic Tim Wise, who is widely regarded as one of the most prominent anti-racist educators in the United States.  Although the Shirley Dixon Celebration of  Urban Education event is free and open to the public, given the strong interest in both the PA-NAME conference and the annual Shirley Dixon celebration, because of limited seating, we strongly encourage you and (possibly your students) to register ASAP

Cabrini University Nerney Leadership Institute Makes a Promise

To Tom Nerney (’77, HON’15), a great leadership trait is to never give up—to constantly persevere, to get back up, and to keep pushing forward. And so it is with the reimagined Nerney Leadership Institute (NLI), celebrated by students, faculty, and staff in the Cabrini University Mansion on Wednesday, February 19.

The Institute was established in 2013, when Nerney, then Vice Chair of Cabrini’s Board of Trustees, identified leadership development as an area of the University’s mission that could be further developed. He served as the NLI’s first Executive-in-Residence, sharing wisdom from his career as Chair, President, and CEO of USLI with students. Today, his vision of bringing leadership education to the student body is coming together in a renewed and collaborative effort that will expand its scope to the entire campus community as well as local and regional organizations.
Chioma Ugochukwu, PhD, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, calls that vision the Nerney Leadership Promise.

“It’s the promise that every undergraduate student who attends Cabrini for four years will receive leadership training prior to graduation,” she said, noting that the training will extend to faculty and staff through professional development opportunities and involve external partnerships. “We’ll achieve these goals and ensure that Cabrini University will become the best-known institution in the region for nurturing, developing, and producing remarkable leaders.”

NLI Co-Directors Melissa Terlecki, PhD, Chair and Professor of Psychology, and Anne Filippone, Executive Director of Student Engagement and Leadership, will manage its curricular and co-curricular aspects, respectively.

“We are going to work to infuse leadership education into general education and major curricula for all students,” said Terlecki, “no matter their major, academic standing, or previous experience.”
To fully prepare students with leadership skills that are applicable across industries and in an ever-changing professional landscape, Filippone said they will use a variety of educational approaches, including podcasts, seminars, conferences, international trips, and other experiences.

She added, “Our goal is to build collaborative partnerships inside and outside the classroom as well as internally and externally to the University.”

Cabrini U. Giving Campaign Warms the Feet of Those Experiencing Homelessness

More than 34,000 pairs! of new socks are now warming the feet of people experiencing homelessness in the Philadelphia area, due in part to the Cabrini University community’s generosity.

Through the Give Love, Give Socks, Give Joy campaign, 175 donors contributed nearly $3,000 in the days leading up to February 14 to purchase new socks. On Valentine’s Day—Socks for the Homeless Day in Pennsylvania—Cabrini students and staff volunteers worked with The Joy of Sox, a nonprofit based in Radnor and Phoenixville, PA, to load up University vans with the organization’s signature purple bags brimming with the new socks.

Tom Costello Jr., Chief Sock Person and Founder of The Joy of Sox, has embarked on a mission to officially designate February 14 as National Socks for the Homeless Day. In additional to Pennsylvania, his resolution has passed in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and North Dakota. He’s working on California, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Because donations tend to decrease after the holidays, according to Costello, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time of year to Give Love, Give Socks, and Give Hope. This year, volunteers from Cabrini University made sock deliveries to more than 20 organizations serving those experiencing homelessness in West Chester, Philadelphia, and Chester, PA, as well as Camden and Trenton, NJ.

Student Advocates Bring About Change in Congress

Dr. Jerry Zurek, Cabrini University Professor, Communications Department sent this email to the 50 Cabrini students who advocated and lobbied on behalf of poor communities around the world. The current Administration wanted to cut the aid budget that would help refugees, migrants, and people suffering from extreme poverty by more than 30 percent. Cabrini students joined theirvoices with those of many others and Congress rejected these harsh cuts.
——————-
To all 50 students who lobbied this year:

Congratulations! Your voice mattered! Congress passed the foreign aid budget, and what you advocated for, passed! Your effort to prepare to go to DC paid off!

You should be so proud of your hard work. Think of all the people who will be helped because YOU CARED.

Congress–both Republicans and Democrats–voted to reject the Trump administration’s cuts to Poverty-Focused Development Assistance and even raised funding by a little bit, 1 percent raise.
• Increased development assistance to alleviate poverty in vulnerable communities by $400 million;
• Provided more than $500 million for assistance to Central America – money that the administration had reduced to 0. This will benefit the people of Guatemala and elsewhere and work to alleviate the root causes of migration.
• Signed into law: The Global Fragility Act will step up a comprehensive U.S. strategy to prevent extremism and promote stability in some of the toughest global hotspots.
• Refugees: the administration wanted to cut funding to just 10 percent of last year. Congress kept it the same as last year.
• Global Health remains strong: PEPFAR, the Global Fund, Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition — all remain strong.
• Food aid: Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole got a slight increase.
• Climate: While Congress does not provide funding the Green Climate Fund, it did include $140 million in flexible funding for the Global Environment and other climate programs.
Read more:
https://www.usglc.org/the-budget/congress-finalizes-fy20-spending-international-affairs-budget-sees-small-increase-as-global-challenges-grow/

Thanks to each and every one of you for answering the call to care for the most vulnerable!

Cabrini University Partners with School District of Philadelphia

Cabrini University is one of the first colleges and universities to partner with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) in Pennsylvania’s pilot program Aspiring to Educate (A2E), which aims to increase the diversity and number of teachers in the Commonwealth. In addition to Cabrini and the SDP, the initial partnership involves the state Department of Education (PDE), six other colleges and universities, and local education and youth organizations.

“Aspiring to Educate will help Pennsylvania attract, recruit, train, and retain a new generation of teachers and school leaders,” said Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera during the public announcement on November 20, noting that A2E is the first program of its kind. “It will not only help the Commonwealth address the shortage of educators and the lack of diversity in the teacher pipeline but will also provide a career pathway for students into the teaching profession.”

“Diversifying the teacher education workforce and the teacher candidate pool is a priority for all of us as it strengthens our programs, classrooms and communities,” said Beverly R. Bryde, EdD, Dean of the Cabrini School of Education. “The Aspiring to Educate initiative from the PDE is impressive and important. We are proud to be partners in this program’s launch.”
Pennsylvania state educators noted that the number of people seeking teaching certification has decreased by more than 65 percent since 2013. Additionally, of the Commonwealth’s 120,000 educators, 96 percent are white—making it the least diverse in the country.

The SDP will work with Cabrini and the other colleges and universities to design individual plans for academically successful high school juniors or seniors interested in becoming teachers. Students who enroll will receive free or reduced tuition through the institution as well as mentoring through the Philadelphia Youth Network and the Center for Black Educator Development. They will be encouraged to teach in Philadelphia’s most high-need areas after they graduate.

To learn more:
https://www.cabrini.edu/about/media-hub/news/2019/aspiring-to-educate-a2e-partnership2

 

 

An Annual Rite of Blessing

Each year, at Cabrini University the staff and volunteers of Campus Ministry offer the opportunity to students, faculty, staff and administration to have their residence hall rooms, offices and/or classrooms blessed.

This year, MSC candidate Evarlyn Ndunge came to the MSC Cottage to bless the offices and the meeting spaces.

610 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA 19087
Phone: 610-902-1039
Fax: 610-971-0396
info@mothercabrini.org