L.O.V.E.: Service Immersion Experiences

As Manhattan College's social justice immersion program, L.O.V.E. provides opportunities for students to learn about justice issues in the communities that are most impacted by them.

  • LOVE Program: Service-Immersion Trip

    The Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience (L.O.V.E.) is Manhattan College’s social justice immersion program. Participants learn about social justice in preparation for their experience. On the trips, students are immersed in the local community through experiences with partner organizations. Students are encouraged to bring what they experience back to campus to engage in local service and advocacy.

What is LOVE?

The LOVE program brings Manhattan College students to a new place to learn about social justice. We wake up early, meet with community & nonprofit organizations, and spend the whole day engaging with justice issues relevant to the residents who live there. Our evenings are spent together in group reflections. During the week we will live simply and step outside of our comfort zones. 

Requirements for student participants in the LOVE program:

  • Applicant must be a Manhattan College student in good academic and judicial standing with the college and good financial standing with the LOVE program.
  • Have a valid Real ID compliant identification (driver’s license or state ID) for domestic trips -or- a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after your last day of travel for international trips.
  • Must be able to commit fully to the program following the first mandatory meeting.
  • Attend the Navigating LOVE Orientation, Pre Trip Reflection & Post Trip Reflection meetings (1.5 hours each).
  • Participate in 12 mandatory pre-trip meetings once a week with your team leading up to the experience.
  • Participate actively in group, team & individual fundraising efforts.
  • Plan a post trip project with your team to help engage the campus community with the city and justice issues you learned about. 
Donate to Support LOVE

Experiences

LOVE service immersion experiences take place over Winter, Spring & Summer breaks in locations both domestically and abroad.

  • Winter Break

    Guayaquil, Ecuador with Rostro de Cristo

    January 5 – 12, 2020

    Rostro de Cristo is a Catholic nonprofit organization that focuses on being with members of the local community rather than doing for them. Students will develop a greater understanding of the reality of community members by visiting with them and sharing in conversations. The group will also visit local community organizations where they will learn about what residents are doing to create change in their communities. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Housing, Education and Healthcare.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $1,700-$1,900

     

    El Paso, Texas with El Otro Lado

    January 5 – 12, 2020

    El Otro Lado (EOL) El Paso, is a Catholic Lasallian border immersion experience that provides participants the opportunity to experience the El Paso and Ciudad Juárez borderland. This program exposes participants to the harsh realities faced by our brothers and sisters that come from “El Otro Lado” (the other side) through visits to local nonprofit organizations and government agencies.The main goal of EOL is to have students listen to the stories of those impacted by living in the borderland. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Immigration, Women & Children and Human Rights.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $800-$1,100

     

    New Orleans, Louisiana with the Center for Ethical Living & Social Justice Renewal

    January 6 - 13, 2019

    Students will participate in an experience with the Center for Ethical Living & Social Justice Renewal, a Unitarian Universalist nonprofit organization. Through encountering the work of local community organizations, participants will better understand the history of the city, the flood & levee system breaches, and recovery. Students are asked to be effective witnesses to the need for continued assistance and recovery of the Gulf Coast so that they can return to their home communities with an analysis about oppression that allows them to become local agents for change. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Racial Justice, Environmental Justice and Housing Justice.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $700-$900

     

    Flint, Michigan with the Firestone Center

    January 5 – 12, 2020

    The Firestone Center is a nonprofit social justice center in downtown Flint, Michigan. This trip explores the water crisis in Flint and its intersections with race and poverty. Students engage with local community partner organizations in the city each day and meet with local leaders over a meal in the evenings. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Environmental Justice, Racial Justice and Economic Development.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $400-$600
    • The group will drive to and from Flint
  • Spring Break

    LOVE Tucson, Arizona with Borderlinks

    March 14 – 21, 2020

    BorderLinks offers experiential learning opportunities that explore the challenges of migration and life along the U.S./Mexico border. Participants will listen to many different voices and hear the stories of people who are impacted by border and immigration policies in a variety of ways. Students will be encouraged to think critically and intersectionality about solutions to the root causes of migration. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Immigration, Women & Children and Human Rights.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $900-$1,100

     

    Browning, Montana with the De La Salle Blackfeet School

    March 14 – 21, 2020

    Students are immersed in life on the Blackfeet Native American Reservation and learn about the Blackfeet culture. Participants will support teachers at the De La Salle Blackfeet School, a private Catholic school on the reservation. The group will learn about current issues facing the community by speaking with community members. Key Issue Areas for this trip include Indigenous Peoples, Education and Human Rights.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $800-$1,100

     

    Bethlehem with Bethlehem University

    March 13 - 21, 2020

    Participants spend one week in the Holy Land learning about the rich culture of the three major Abrahamic religions. Participants will visit two schools of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, the Freres Lasallian School and Bethlehem University. Students will have a chance to meet with faculty and students to learn about their work, lives, and relationships they have established with the communities there. Participants will also meet with Catholic Relief Services and see firsthand the work they are doing to support the local community.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $1,900-$2,100

     

    El Cercado, Dominican Republic with Social Ministry El Cercado

    March 14 – 21, 2020

    Social Ministry El Cercado is a Catholic community based organization that organizes and empowers residents to create change in their own communities. Participants will meet with local groups and community members to learn about the impacts of climate change on the agricultural community of El Cercado. Key issue areas for this trip include Environmental Justice, Economic Development & Education.
    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $900-$1,200
  • Summer Break

    Chicago, Illinois with the Brother David Darst Center

    May 17 – 24, 2020

    The Brother David Darst Center provides transformative urban immersion experiences in the Catholic Lasallian tradition. Through partnerships with local agencies, participants are able to get to know people, to challenge stereotypes, and be open to new experiences. As a participant, you are fully immersed in urban life and are able to see the social injustices that are prevalent in American cities and reflect upon the root causes. Key issue areas for this trip include Restorative Justice, Economic Justice and Immigration.

    • Estimated Trip Cost (after group fundraising): $400-$600
    • The group will drive to and from Chicago

Apply

Application Procedure:

  1. Submit a $25 refundable (if not placed on an LOVE experience at this time) deposit at the time of your application. You can pay via check made out to Manhattan College placed in an envelope and dropped of in the Social Action Suite, located in the Kelly Student Commons, 2.03., or online at connect.manhattan.edu/love and put your name and "LOVE DEPOSIT" in the comment field.
  2. Submit the below application by 11:59 p.m. on the corresponding due date below.
    • Winter Break Trips & Bethlehem: Monday, September 9, 2019
    • Spring Break Trips: Monday, October 7, 2019
    • Summer Break Trips: Monday, February 3, 2020
  3. The LOVE administrators and student leaders will review all applications and determine which experience is the best fit for each student. No students are guaranteed to be placed on a particular trip. Anyone who is not able to be placed on an experience at this time will be notified via email.
  4. Students who are selected for an experience will attend the Navigating LOVE session. Students will have an orientation to the program, discover which experience they will be participating in, and meet the other participants. If a student is not selected for an experience at this time, they will recieve an email the Monday following the application deadline.
  5. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jacquie Martin at jacquie.martin@manhattan.edu or 718-862-7477
  6. Applications will not be considered until all requirements are fulfilled.

Apply Now

Justice is what love looks like in public!

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