In celebration of Rockford University’s own Jane Addams and her September birthday and to recognize the National Day of Remembrance on September 11, the Rockford University campus is coming together for a Day of Service on September 11. The day’s service opportunities will benefit local organizations including Rockford Rescue Mission, Wesley Willows Senior Living Community, the Ethnic Heritage Museum, and the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Students, faculty, and staff will be working on projects both virtual and in-person. Virtual service will benefit the Open Street Maps project and the Smithsonian Institution through a transcription project. On campus, students will volunteer with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to serve up to 250 local families at a Mobile Food Pantry located in Parking Lot A from 10-11:30 a.m. Students will also be working on projects to help Get Out the Vote and beautify the campus, and they will be writing and sending cards of encouragement to Wesley Willows residents and teachers in RPS 205. Student athletes will be working on gardening and landscaping projects off-campus at Rockford Rescue Mission and the Ethnic Heritage Museum. 

Day of Service 2020 offers an opportunity for our campus to come together as a community  and to recognize and celebrate our alumna Jane Addams, the importance she saw in community engagement and service, and her enduring values that are reflected in our institutional commitment to Rockford and the Northern Illinois region.