For 25 years, St. Margaret’s House has served South Bend as a day center where women in the community can come and seek shelter and support. For 20 of those years, the house has held its annual Winter Walk, which leads participants through downtown South Bend to raise money for and awareness about its cause, Rebekah DeLine, director of the Office for Civic and Social Engagement, said in an email to the Saint Mary’s community.
Students at Saint Mary’s were able to get involved in the Feb. 17 walk — St. Margaret’s largest event of the year — with the help of the Office for Civic and Social Engagement (OCSE) and Campus Ministry. Belles and other participants assembled at 2 p.m. and began their walk at 2:30 p.m. at the County City Building through South Bend’s downtown.
The OCSE promotes engagement with the South Bend community as an important aspect of students’ time at Saint Mary’s. Now having some perspective on the event, DeLine said she was pleased with the Winter Walk’s turnout.
“The St. Margaret’s House Winter Walk was two Sundays ago (Feb. 17), and I’m happy to say that we had great participation,” she said in an email interview.
In gratitude for their efforts, DeLine said students who participated in the walk will be publicly recognized in the Student Center.
“Each person that either joins our team or makes an online donation will be recognized by having their name written on a Converse Shoe [that] will be placed by our poster in the Student Center,” she said.
Circle K, a student group which was among those that participated in the Winter Walk, held a brief informational meeting in Warner Conference Room on Wednesday. Circle K, which is distinct from OCSE and Campus Ministry, is affiliated with the local South Bend Kiwanis, an international nonprofit organization that does work to benefit children and their communities.
Circle K is focused on “developing college and university students into responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to serving the children of the world,” according to the group’s mission statement.
Following the success of the St. Margaret’s Winter Walk, Circle K is now hosting a “Miss-A-Meal” event Thursday. DeLine said the event gives Saint Mary’s students the opportunity to donate a meal swipe and send the forgone money to St. Margaret’s House.
“If students chose to ‘Miss-A-Meal,’ the money they would have spent on their meal will be donated to St. Margaret’s House,” she said.
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