Playing It Forward

Background

The early seeds of The Servite Play It Forward program were sown in Spring 2017 as a way to engage Servite alumni with the Freshman Formation Weekend, which was in need of funding for student Bibles. Brendan Ronan (then Director of Formation) and Steffanie Early (then Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations) contacted Mike Freeman from the Class of 1971 about support from his class for the Class of 2021, who would graduate 50 years after his class.

Mr. Freeman felt that a more personal connection, rather than just giving money, would be more meaningful for himself, his classmates, and hopefully the Servite students. So the Class of 1971 bought the Bibles for the Class of 2021. Then, a few months later, at a 1971 alumni gathering at Rick and Karen Julian's Home, Mr. Freeman proposed the concept of Play It Forward 100 years to his classmates. There the effort was born with the Class of 1971 engaging with the Class of 2021 throughout their 4 years at Servite as both classes being the “pioneers” of this project. The program serves to reconnect alumni with Servite and see the benefits of today’s Servite education; to illustrate to current students the lifelong brotherhood shared by Servite Friars; and to reinforce to both classes the value of a Servite education and a values-centered life. 

Program Highlights

Freshman Year

Freshman Formation Weekend:
Alumni donate $25 to pay for a Bible for an incoming freshman. The Bibles have bookplates recognizing the donor class. Experience has been that many of the alumni will fundraise among themselves to a target goal, depending upon the number of freshman students. Participating in Formation weekend is a huge and very worthwhile time commitment for alumni to actually engage with their chosen class. Alumni are invited to address the parents to share their experience of brotherhood and introduce themselves. This is a wonderful and fun activity that can get the parents support behind Servite and this program. An alumni speaker will work closely with the Director of Freshman Formation to craft and deliver a talk about faith & brotherhood to the students. Alumni are invited to attend and celebrate the closing Mass as their new brothers are officially welcomed into the Servite family. 

Freshman Challenge Day:
Alumni will be invited to participate in the Freshman Challenge Day in the Spring semester.

Sophomore Year

Sophomore Service Project: 
Alumni will be invited to campus to complete a meaningful service project alongside members of the Sophomore Class and will be invited to join them for lunch afterward.

Formation Auto Repair lesson:
Alumni share a lesson on changing tires, jumpstarting a car, etc. (Lunch with selected sophomores included.) This takes about half a day with a different parts of the class attending at different times. As we talked about fixing flat tires, jumpstarting cars, etc. Alumni share some of their own car breakdown stories, predicaments and solutions so the students understand this is real world stuff!

Junior Year

Kairos:
Alumni will be invited to write letters to students on Kairos. Alumni who have attended a Kairos or Cursillo retreat or similar may be considered for small group leader positions. Alumni may also be utilized as kitchen help for selected retreats. All participation is valued and worthwhile for everyone involved.

Senior Year

Aspire speakers:
Alumni to serve as presenters for the Aspire Initiative. This program was developed by student request to help them get a foundation for managing their finances and career development and is an outstanding opportunity for alumni to interact with the students, share their success stories and mistakes, etc over the span of several weeks.

Senior theology talk backs:
Alumni speakers return to discuss life’s journey as seniors prepare to graduate and enter “real life.”

Senior Alumni Brunch:
Alumni are invited to attend breakfast, speak, and present the class with their plaques for the Alumni Garden