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Home > Mission and Ministry > Advocacy

do What you Can, with what you have, where you arE

Advocacy, Service and Service-Learning 

We are called to be changemakers in society and to help the helpless.  Advocacy is a way to advocate for change in the world.

Sometimes the hardest part of engaging in advocacy can be figuring out where to start.

Government is the mechanism for public policy process, and elected officials and their staff are driving and creating policies. As their constituents and important stakeholders in civil society, they need to hear from you about how policies will affect our communities.

What is Advocacy?

The Oxford online Dictionary defines advocacy as public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. Such support can be personal, local, national, or international.

What is the connection between advocacy and service?

Learning to Give states that service takes four basic forms: direct, indirect, advocacy, and research and their website provides helpful examples of each type of service. In a 2006 article in the Journal of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities, Dr. Jacqueline Haessly describes seven approaches to service, including advocacy: Franciscan Values, Kinship, and Academic Service Learning

Why promote advocacy as a form of service?

Engaging in advocacy invites students to explore the causes of injustice and inequity and to take steps to promote a better life for all. Advocacy is one form of action that promotes civic engagement. The Association of American Colleges and Universities states that:

Civic engagement is "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes." (Excerpted from Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000, Preface, page vi.) In addition, civic engagement encompasses actions wherein individuals participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community.

At this time, when social interaction necessarily needs to be limited, advocacy supports our University value of Service and fosters an understanding of the critical importance of both charity and justice.

What opportunities exist for advocacy in support of Care for Creation?

  • Franciscan Action Network offers several ideas here. This resource offers information on pending legislation and also tips on how to contact Congresspersons.
  • Here is a simple action about EPA rollbacks that needs to be lifted up persistently.
  • Explore Catholic Climate Covenant for additional ideas.

What opportunities exist for advocacy in other areas?

What resources provide background on various social issues?