Lasallianism, Social Justice, and Community Service: Characteristics of Participants in CBU’s “September of Service: 30 Days of Good Deeds” | AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education

Jeffrey J. Sable, Ph.D.; Bevalee B. Vitali, Ph.D.; and Tracie L. Burke, Ed.D.

ABSTRACT

In 2012, Christian Brothers University (CBU) began an annual program called September of Service: 30 Days of Good Deeds (SOS), in which members of the campus community engage in an organized service activity every day of September. Here we report initial results from an online survey conducted after the seventh SOS in 2018, focusing on characteristics of individuals who participated in SOS – voluntarily or as part of a requirement – versus non-participants. SOS participation was driven primarily by a desire to help the community and other people. Participation increased awareness of social injustices and desire to participate in service activities. SOS participants were more involved in other kinds of service activities than non-participants. Voluntary SOS participants also identified more strongly with the Lasallian mission and had the greatest sense of community service self-efficacy. Required participants, however, indicated the strongest belief in a just world. We found only weak relationships between SOS participation and involvement in service prior to coming to CBU, but SOS was attractive to some participants in their decision to attend CBU. The findings of this study may be helpful in guiding programming and recruitment efforts at Lasallian colleges and universities.

Full Text:

Lasallianism, Social Justice, and Community Service: Characteristics of Participants in CBU’s “September of Service: 30 Days of Good Deeds”

Keywords: social justice, community service, just world, Lasallian mission, volunteer, self-efficacy

Jeffrey J. Sable, PhD

Jeffrey J. Sable, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of behavioral sciences at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2003 with an emphasis in cognition and neuroscience and an interdisciplinary graduate minor in college teaching.

Bevalee B. Vitali, Ph.D.

Bevalee B. Vitali, who is an associate professor in the department of management, marketing, & economics at Christian Brothers University, earned her doctorate at the University of Arkansas.

Tracie L. Burke, Ed.D.

Tracie L. Burke, who is professor of behavioral science at Christian Brothers University, earned her doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Memphis.