For more information about Social justice
programming, please contact Ketienne Telemaque
Resident Minister for Vincentian Service
and Justice
telemaqk@stjohns.edu
718-990-6426
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APRIL 10th: Tom's Shoes:
Walk-A-DayWithout-Shoes!
This year, once again, the Department of
Campus Ministry in conjunction with Students for Global Justice
will be going shoeless in support of Tom's Shoes and the One for
One Campaign.
One for One Movement
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie
befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to
protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would
match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given
to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a
group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000
pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
Why Shoes?
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether
at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at
risk:
•A leading cause of disease in developing countries is
soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through
bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the
long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
•Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores.
Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when
wounds become infected.
•Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes
are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes,
they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they
don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.
WHAT TO DO...
ON APRIL 10th... SHOW YOUR TOES!!! Please also join us for the
solidarity mass at St. Thomas More Church at 12:15 pm (Please be
sure to bring shoes to wear inside of the church). There we will
pray for those individuals who are directly impacted by this
injustice (lack of access to adequate footwear, and other disease
preventive items). We will make a solidarity lap around the great
lawn shoeless at 1:00pm.
We also ask that you please swipe your stormcard for the event
in the DAC Lobby! There you can pick up literature and items to
show your support of the cause.
Share your story: If you choose to walk shoeless that day, we
want to hear about how it impacted you personally, and how it
impacted the people you encountered that day. Please email telemaqk@stjohns.edu.
TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!!!
A Special Thank you is extended to all of those who
participated in this year's "Breast Cancer Awareness: High
-Heel-A-Thon"
NOVEMBER IS... HUNGER AWARENESS
MONTH
Hunger
Banquet
The St. John’s Community assembles to experience a “taste” of
poverty. Dinner is served according to economic class
assigned as students enter. Student reflection on poverty
both domestically and internationally along with other exercises
are presented to immerse students into the challenges of
poverty.
During 2009’s Hunger Banquet, guest speaker Janet Kalish, a
“Freegan,” was welcomed and educated on the lives of men and women
who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited
participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption
of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social
concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a
society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition,
conformity, and greed. A high school teacher, Janet was able to
share the stories of her community, shed light on issues of
poverty, and the means by which community can bring about social
justice and equality through the efforts made by each individual,
however small.
During 2010's Hunger Banquet, 2 speakers joined us from the
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing to speak to their
experiences working with, and being victims of the affordable
housing crisis. They enligntend St. John's students on the plight
of homeless members in the metropolitan area, and gave compelling
stories that put a new face on homelessness.
This year, on November 15, 2011, in the D'Angelo
Center Room 416 C at 6 p.m., Campus Ministry and
Student's for Global Justice will once again
host THE HUNGER BANQUET. We have another interesting
speaker joining our community to educate us on the issues of
homelessness and hunger here and abroad. Stay tuned for the
announcement of the speaker.
For more information please contact telemaqk@stjohns.edu
Rice for
Life
“Every grain of rice is essential in the fight against
hunger.” The Department of Student Wellness (SWELL) in
collaboration with Campus Ministry invite student to be a part of
the fight against hunger. By visiting www.FreeRice.com,
students have the opportunity to help feed hungry people and
educate themselves at the same time. Run by the United
Nations World Food Program, FreeRice.com will donate 10 grains of
rice to countries that need it most for every trivia question
answered correctly on the website. Though 10 grains may seem like a
small amount, it is important to remember that while you are
playing, thousands of others are playing at the same time.
This joint effort makes a difference! In 2008, 43,942,622,700
grains of rice were donated through FreeRice.com to help end world
hunger.
In the past we have also worked on the following
projects:
Pig Out for
Poverty
The
Pig Out for Poverty drive is a campus-wide campaign to combat
hunger through student, staff, and faculty visibility on the St.
John’s University campus. 200 pig banks are carried
throughout the day to collect money to aid in fighting
poverty. Proceeds go directly to Catholic Relief Services and
are used as micro loans to purchase real pigs for men and women in
a small village in Guatemala.
Special guest Elvis the Pig makes an appearance on the Great Lawn
each year from 11-2pm to help collect donations, free and willing
to take pictures with everyone.
“Believe in the Power of Change.”
School of the Americas Peace
March
Marching in solidarity on behalf of countless lives that have been
lost due to violence, St. John’s University students travel for the
third year to Fort Benning, Georgia to march peacefully with
thousands of other men and women. In an effort to bring about
peace and social justice, students will march for those who
continue to suffer from violence.
On Nov. 16, 1989, 14 year old Celina Ramos, her mother Elba Ramos,
and six Jesuit priests were massacred in El Salvador. A US
Congressional Task Force reported that most of the killers were
trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft.
Benning, GA. Since then, mounting evidence proves soldiers who
trained at the SOA are and continue to be responsible for the worst
human rights abuses in Latin America.
SOA Watch began in a tiny apartment outside the main gate of Ft.
Benning by Fr. Roy Bourgeois in 1990. The vigils and activities
quickly grew, drawing upon the knowledge and experience of many in
the U.S. who had worked with people in Latin America in the 1970’s
and 80’s. Today, SOA Watch is a large, grassroots movement rooted
in solidarity with the people most affected by the SOA- those poor
and oppressed.
The main goal of the SOA Watch is to close the School of the
Americas and to change the oppressive U.S. foreign policy in Latin
America by educating the public, lobbying Congress, and
participating in creative, nonviolent action. St. John’s
students, as a part of the Vincentian mission to serve the poor and
act on behalf of the oppressed, will march with 20,000 other men
and women whose silenced and peaceful voices are louder than any
means of violence.
War, Peace, and Poverty
Exhibit
Featuring the work of artists like Linda Panetta from Optical
Realities, students gather for the War, Peace, and Poverty
Exhibit. Pictures, posters, interaction presentations, and
art stations highlighted violence around the globe. Students
have the opportunity to paint on crosses to be carried during Peace
March. This remarkably and creative Exhibit gives students an
opportunity to see social justice in action, as well as the
opportunity to see the faces of those who suffer.
Free Hug
Campaign
Giving away hundreds of hugs on the Great Lawn and around the St.
John’s University campus, students carried “Free Hug” signs made at
the War, Peace, and Poverty Exhibit the previous day to offer love
to their own community. The Free Hug Campaign provides the
presence on the STJ campus to convey the message of love and
friendship, wherever it may come from. This empowering
experience allows students to give and to receive the gift of a
free hug.
Welcoming different special guest speakers, students have an
opportunity to be in solidarity with those living without shelter
as they share in his experience.
Peace
March
Motivated by the powerfully moving SOA peace march, during a follow
up meeting and discussion with student participants, the Peace
March idea was incepted. Encouraged to bring back the SOA
experience to St. John’s University, students committed to give
back to their community of what they received while on their trip
to Georgia. Students marched for Peace carrying the crosses
made during the War, Peace, and Poverty Exhibit. Welcoming a
speaker from the United Nations as well as performing a short play
of the life and death of Oscar Romero, students walked in
solidarity with those who suffer from war and violence on a daily
basis.
High-Heel-A-Thon
In an effort to Raise Awareness about Breast Cancer on Campus, and
to raise awareness about the Annual Breast Cancer Walk taking place
on October 16th this year, the department of Campus Ministry in
conjunction with Students for Global Justice will be coordinating a
fundraiser.
The Breast Cancer Awareness High-Heel-A-Thon will take place on
Thursday, October 13th, at 1:50pm on the
Great Lawn. Registration begins at 1:30pm.
Men: You are invited to join us as participants in the
walk-a-thon, with a little twist; all laps must be completed in
High Heels! The man, who walks in heels for the most laps, will win
a prize. The man who raises the most money for the Breast Cancer
Cause will also win a prize!
Women: You are invited to help in the collection of High-Heels
for the big event! There will be collection baskets placed in the
Montgoris Lobby and in the Campus Ministry Main Office, located in
Marrilac Terrace, next door to Dunkin' Donuts. Bins will be
available from October 1st-October 12th! Please drop off those
heels. The donated heels will go to St. John's Bread &
Life.
REGISTRATION:
Registration forms and brochures are now available in the Campus
Ministry Office located in Marrilac Terrace, as well as the offices
located in the St. Thomas More Church.
ONLINE REGISTRATION:
TO REGISTER CLICK
HERE !
On-line Registration beings Monday, September 26th! More
information to come! If you have any questions, and/or would like
to get involved, do not hesitate to contact Ketienne Telemaque,
Resident Minister, (718) 990-6426 or at telemaqk@stjohns.edu