2017 Compassion In Action Awards - Niagara University

Community Missions will hold its 25th Annual Awards Brunch on Wednesday, May 24 at the LaSalle Yacht Club. Each day leading up to the event, we will profile one of the upcoming honorees. Today, Niagara University, recipient of the Director's Award, will be featured.

The Niagara University website states that "As a Vincentian university, Niagara draws inspiration from St. Vincent de Paul, who organized his contemporaries to respond compassionately to people's basic needs. Continuing this tradition, Niagara seeks to inspire its students to serve all members of society, especially the poor and oppressed, in local communities and in the larger world." Perhaps nowhere is there a greater example of the fulfillment of these words than in the University's support of Community Missions.

The array of partnerships that exist between Niagara University and CMI are too numerous to list here. Among them, however, are many programs that encourage students to gain practical experience at the agency, which include IMPACT (formerly Learn & Serve), Vincentian Scholars, the Shepherd Consortium on Poverty, and TAAP (Taking Action Against Poverty), a program bringing freshmen interested in Social Work degrees out to shadow CMI employees to determine if their interests align with the work done in the field.

Further resources for Community Missions have come about through alliances with the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M. Institute of Civic Engagement. ReNU Niagara has as its mission to build capacity for community stakeholders, and has been an impactful resource for numerous programs and initiatives that the Mission participates in. Meanwhile, the St. Vincent Seat Program has allowed CMI guests from a number of different programs to attend sporting events free of charge.

The Athletic Department has also provided numerous opportunities for exposure. Athletic teams have often visited Community Missions, while the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee participated in a holiday food drive at the Mission this past year. Collections have also been taken at athletic contests, increasing the exposure of Community Missions throughout the community.

It is for these wide and varied reasons that Community Missions presents its Director's Award to Niagara University. Thank you all for your dedication to the students and the community that you impact each day!