Outreach

Thomas is a blind and deaf 8-year old from Lilly, PA. SFU Education majors teamed up with Chemistry students to create learning solutions for Thomas. Students designed symbols which they printed on a 3D printer. Project is part of a community-engaged course in which students apply what they learn in class to help the community. Thomas is an 8 year old boy from Lilly, PA who is mostly blind and deaf. Eager to help, Saint Francis University Education majors began working on a project to support Thomas’s understanding and communication with the world around him. Education Professor MaryAnn Shaw

Dr. Justin Merry , Associate Professor of Biology , Ms. Jen Merry, Assistant Director of Marketing Strategy, and Dr. Tim Bintrim , Professor of English and Environmental Studies , led a delegation of ten student volunteers to MOM-n-PA , the Pennsylvania Dental Mission of Mercy, held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre June 7-8, 2019. Now in its eighth year, MOM-n-PA is a huge event that serves roughly 1,800 people over two days, each year delivering a million dollars in free dental services to the under-served. Almost all patients either lack dental insurance or are under-insured, and many

Young children develop as they explore their environment. Most are able to independently crawl, roll, scoot, creep, or walk around to explore and learn. When they are unable to do this independently they are at a disadvantage. They are limited to what toys are within reach and are often times stationary and only mobile by means of a caregiver leading the exploration. The Physical Therapy Department at Saint Francis University has a solution. In collaboration with the national organization, GoBabyGo , the university will begin producing ride along, modified battery powered cars for children

For the ninth year, Saint Francis University has been named a “Military Friendly School” by VIQTORY. This year, the university earned the organization’s Gold Award , which suggests that its programs scored within 10 percent of the 10 th ranked institution within a given category. This designation reflects the high standards upheld by the university in serving military families. The university's service-focused mission couples well with their duties as active duty or reservist men and women. SFU also welcomes veterans who have honorably served and seek to successfully transition into the

Chemistry professor, Dr. Samantha Radford , and two of her classes, Environmental Chemistry and Human Toxicology are working with the community to bring more awareness to the under-reported issue of lead exposure in Central Pennsylvania. Several cities in Pennsylvania, including Altoona, have a higher children’s lead exposure rate than that of Flint Michigan, even during their recent lead crisis. The city of Altoona ranks second worst in the state with an alarming 20% of children having elevated lead blood levels. Dr. Radford worked with the Saint Francis University Center for Service and

Neighbors in Cambria County have an opportunity to go solar in a group as part of the Cambria County Solar Co-op with the help of Solar United Neighbors . The co-op provides technical support and bulk purchasing power to help participants get a great deal while also building a network of solar supporters. Vision 2025 Johnstown and the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter are the co-op sponsors. There are currently 22 participants in the group. Interested community members can still join. The group will hold its final public information session September 12 at 6 p.m. at Saint Francis University

The two-week-old infant screamed in discomfort. Loren Schweiger tightened her embrace and the baby slowly relaxed in her arms. “There, there,” said Loren. “All better.” Loren Schweiger is a “cuddler”. The Saint Francis University senior Healthcare Studies major donates a few hours each week helping console the most hapless victims of the opioid epidemic, newborn babies addicted to drugs, often heroin. “I learned in my Public Health class about the increase in babies born addicted to the drugs that their mothers took. I became emotional and I began to do some research. I found that UPMC in

Ten Saint Francis University students, faculty and staff dedicated their time and talents volunteering to help nearly 2,000 patients in need of dental treatments at a weekend-long domestic mission trip in Reading, Pennsylvania this past weekend. The Mission of Mercy in Pennsylvania organization (MOM-n-PA) is a large-scale, two-day dental clinic where treatment is provided to individuals at no cost. Each year, MOM-n-PA travels across the state with their mobile clinic treating under-served dental patients in need of care. The inaugural two-day mission took place in Philadelphia in 2013. Since

A unique partnership between local organizations and the Saint Francis University Shields School of Business is providing students opportunities to learn outside the classroom and engage in community outreach. Facilitated by the Shields’ Backpack to Briefcase Program , students from Dr. Tricia McFadden’s three upper-level marketing classes teamed up with local business owners to provide client-consultant marketing services. Students enrolled in the MKTG 404: Marketing Management, MKTG 321: Marketing Research, and MKTG 325: Integrated Marketing Communications courses engaged a praxis-approach

Ashley Rovder, an Environmental Engineering major, took part in a unique full-immersion study abroad experience in Bolivia. The experience was made possible through a collaboration between Saint Francis University and the University of Dayton’s Engineers in Technical Humanitarian Opportunities in Service Learning (ETHOS) project. Below, Ashley discusses her experience abroad. What service project did you work on while in Bolivia? I volunteered for SODIS (short for Solar Water Disinfection), a nonprofit organization in Cochabamba, Bolivia, that focuses on providing clean water for the community