Helping the Needy While Still Having Fun

By: Kaitlyn Boisvert
Posted In: News

On the evening of September 29, 2010, a soft aroma of home-made macaroni wafts from the small but quaint kitchen in the University Chapel’s Spiritual Mercy Center room. The delicious scent gently caresses the people who have gathered for the Mercy Center’s scheduled presentation. The crowd temporarily ceases merry chatter to inhale the irresistible warm smell. Mouths water with anticipation. Two of the kitchen volunteers then step into the room and set the finished meal on a long table. After everyone cites a short and sweet grace, one of the volunteers jokingly commands, “Now get up and get food.” No one has to be told twice, and the macaroni is so delicious that many come back for seconds.

The purpose for this relaxing gathering on a Wednesday evening regards the Urban Plunge, a trip the Mercy Center makes to Saint Patrick’s Church in Providence, R.I. every year. The purpose of the trip is to experience the exciting spiritual environment of a different culture as well as providing service to the church and people in need. Any student interested is allowed to go, and at this social gathering inside the Mercy Center room, students who attended last year’s Urban Plunge tell about their experiences and encourage other students to attend this year’s trip.

The students scheduled to speak present a slide-show of last year’s adventure. While beginning the presentation, most students cannot help but laugh at the slideshow’s pictures, which show student volunteers high in spirits and having fun while completing their mission for good service. The speakers then relive their experiences, and tell their stories in such a compelling way that most of their audience probably cannot help but wish that they had been there too.

Last year the Urban Plunge trip lasted three days and two nights. About eight students went, and it is apparent from the presented photographs that they all enjoyed their experiences. They were bedazzled by the church’s theme of Spanish culture and its beautiful masses, conducted completely in Spanish. The students got a further taste in a new culture by making empanadas, a Spanish pastry dish. This proved to be a rather amusing experience for them. When the empanadas were finished, the students helped sell them to church patrons after mass. People were very grateful for the treats, and the money raised benefited the church.

The students performed other services that they thoroughly enjoyed. One was repainting the church’s main set of stairs. A few of the students chuckle as Shannon Del Ross, a sophomore, recalls her devotion to the project. “I spent so much time on those stairs-I was so determined,” she said. “But it was worth it, because when I finally finished, they looked really good.”

Even more charitable acts of service were performed the weekend of Urban Plunge that were a bit more serious than baking pastries and painting stairways. One act was helping distribute petitions for heating assistance, to benefit those who could not afford it. Another was going to the Kennedy Plaza in Providence, and passing out small assembled meals to those who were hungry. This was perhaps the most enlightening project of all.

“You could tell that people really appreciated it. I remember that there was this one man who came, who said that he had recently found an eighteen-year-old boy on the streets,” Lucas Damjanovic, a senior, recalled. “The boy had been kicked out of his home, and so the man took him under his wing. Hearing this story was so inspiring. We gave him a sandwich to take to the kid.”

Although the group definitely performed good deeds that benefited greater causes, there was still time for fun and games. They slept in colorful sleeping bags within the church, and played board games such as Apples to Apples. One night, they all went to the cinema for a midnight viewing of the film Paranormal Activity, just as it was released. On another day they attended a food festival within the church, at which there was a jubilant clown in attendance.

When asked if they would go on the trip again, all replied with an enthusiastic “yes”.

The Rev. Kris von Maluski, university chaplain was among those who had attended the Urban Plunge. “It was such a great trip: we got a lot of fun and got a lot accomplished,” he said. “I encourage everyone to go, it is a great experience.”

Those interested in attending this year’s Urban Plunge should inform the Mercy Center, so a set date for Urban Plunge can be made. Students should not wish to pass up such a unique opportunity; for it’s about having fun while making the world better by painting one stair at a time.