Service Is Part of Who We Are: Hilbert Opens St. Francis Week Working Alongside Buffalo Nonprofits

HAMBURG, NY — 315 Hilbert College students, faculty, and staff spent September 29 serving across the Buffalo area, volunteering with 18 nonprofit and community organizations for Franciscan Day of Caring, the College’s annual day of service. Volunteers fanned out from food pantries and nature preserves to a friary and a botanical garden

“Each day at Hilbert we focus on doing all we can to ensure that the Hilbert Experience changes the lives of our students,” said Interim President Michael Cornell. “When our students and staff spread out across Western New York to help our neighbors, our students learn one of life’s greatest lessons: that no matter our own personal circumstances we can always find a way to add value to the lives of others.”

The partners’ own numbers show what that looked like. At Resurrection Life Food Pantry, Hilbert’s women’s ice hockey team joined pantry volunteers to distribute 15 pallets of food to nearly 275 families, representing more than 600 people, according to the pantry. At Compass House, which serves runaway and homeless youth, students mailed 100 informational letters to schools across Erie County to remind them of the services available.

Across the 18 organizations, volunteers averaged about three hours each, adding up to roughly 945 hours of service for nonprofits that serve Buffalo’s neighbors every day.

For Hilbert, service is not limited to one day, and the College’s Franciscan mission is the reason.

“As a Franciscan institution, service is not simply something we do, it is a part of who we are,” said Lauren Gill, Chief Mission and Belonging Officer at Hilbert College. “St. Francis reminds us that ‘it is in giving that we receive,’ and the Franciscan Day of Caring gives our community the opportunity to live that message together. Whether we are serving a family in need, caring for our environment, supporting a local organization or simply giving our time to someone else, each act of service matters. While this day brings our community together in a special way, our hope is that it also reminds us that we are called to serve not just during St. Francis Week, but throughout the entire year.”

The service on September 29 opened St. Francis Week, which ran through October 5 and centered on service, peace, faith, community, and care for creation. The week continued on campus:

• Wednesday, September 30, 11 am to 1 pm | Coffee with the Saints, West Herr Atrium. Guests took a mid-day coffee break with treats and conversation about popular Franciscan saints and how they used their lives to make a difference.
• Thursday, October 1, 4 pm | Blessing of the Animals, Campus Firepit. Community members brought a furry friend, or a photo or stuffed animal of a beloved pet, for a special blessing.
• Friday, October 2, 11 am | Peace Walk, starting at Swan Auditorium. Participants walked around campus, stopping at stations to hear stories about St. Francis and reflect on his message of peace and care for others.
• Saturday, October 3, 12 to 4 pm | Fall in Love with Rescues, Hilbert quad. A free community celebration brought pet adoptions, vendors, food trucks, a DJ and a pet blessing at 2 pm.
• Sunday, October 4, 7 pm | Feast of St. Francis Mass, St. Clare’s Chapel. The Hilbert community gathered to celebrate the feast and reflect on St. Francis’s example of faith, service and care for creation.
• Monday, October 5, 3:30 pm | Agape Latte, Bogel Hall 101. Grace Adams, Director of Residence Life and Community Standards, shared personal stories and reflections in a coffeehouse-style setting with coffee, sweet treats and conversation.

Franciscan Day of Caring is one day on the calendar, and St. Francis Week carried on from there. Hilbert was founded in 1957 by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, and nearly seven decades later its students, faculty, and staff are still showing up for their neighbors across Buffalo.

Participating organizations: FeedMore WNY, Compass House, The Salvation Army, SPCA of Erie County, Friends of the Night People, Goodness Project, Response to Love Center, Resurrection Life Food Pantry, Cradle Beach, Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Leveling the Playing Field, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Little Portion Friary, Teacher’s Desk, Tifft Nature Preserve, Buffalo Botanical Gardens, Mercy Center, St. Francis Park.