S.O.U.L.S. Community Service and Service Learning Center

"Authentic help means that all who are involved help each other simultaneously, growing together in the common effort to understand the reality which they seek to transform."

~Paolo Freire

Since 1997, Suffolk’s Organization for Uplifting Lives through Service (S.O.U.L.S.) has organized long and short-term service opportunities for members of the Suffolk University community.  Our mission is to engage Suffolk University students, faculty, staff and alumni in a variety of meaningful service opportunities designed to strengthen communities and improve the quality of life for individuals. 

To accomplish our mission in a manner consistent with our values, we develop service opportunities that:

• enhance classroom learning through practical experience in the community;
• offer participants a greater understanding of social justice and support their advocacy for social change;
• help participants to establish an ethic of service, achieve a sense of personal growth, and discover opportunities for leadership development; and
• express and promote the value and acceptance of diversity in our communities.

S.O.U.L.S. is a proud former recipient of a grant from the Massachusetts Service Alliance and a current member of the Massachusetts Campus Compact.

Co-Curricular Service Projects: Creating the Ties to Our Community

S.O.U.L.S. seeks to promote social change by supporting the work of community partners in the Greater Boston area through student service initiatives. Students who are interested in pursuing community service are welcome to either complete an online interest form or visit the S.O.U.L.S. Center in D209 to consult with a staff member about one-time or ongoing service opportunities that match the student’s interests. Some of the co-curricular projects include:

• Alternative Spring Break Service Trips
• Alternative Winter Break Service Trip
• Red Cross Blood Drives
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month
• First-Year Service Day
• Supper Clubs
• Jumpstart Program-Preschool Mentoring Program
• Connections to College-High School Mentoring Program

Supporting the Growth of Service Learning

Service learning projects are integrated curriculum components, which are organized around clear learning objectives and aimed at addressing real community needs. Service learning enables students to put theory into practice, gaining vital perspective on their academic experiences while deepening their comprehension and developing their critical thinking skills 

The SO.U.L.S. Center currently supports the development, implementation, and assessment of service learning projects in more than 15 courses each semester.  Service learning opportunities are offered in both the Sawyer Business School and the College of Arts and Sciences, in disciplines as diverse as Communication, Psychology, History, Environmental Studies and Philosophy. 

The Director and Assistant Director of Service Learning serve as resources for faculty who are interested in incorporating service learning into their currculum.  They are available to research community partners and potential projects, serve as a liason between community organizations and university faculty, facilitate orientations for students and faculty prior to service, and provide tools for reflection and project assessment.

Service learning course projects have included:

• Tutoring ESOL students from a variety of backgrounds, including asylum-seeing refugees
• Providing nutrition education to teen parents
• Serving meals and providing support to HIV positive and AIDS patients
• Tutoring at-risk youth from Boston Public Schools
• Facilitating activities to enhance the quality of life for elderly residents in low-income housing facilities
• Serving meals to homeless individuals in the community
• Educating backyard gardeners in low-income neighborhoods about the risks of lead contamination in their soil