Global Community Day Global Community Day Project, Project,

Saturday, April 21, 2012Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hosted by Saint Joseph’s Hosted by Saint Joseph’s University in the tradition of University in the tradition of

service and paying it forward!service and paying it forward!

Background of GCDBackground of GCDKristen Cosgrove, mom to Josh and

Addison Cosgrove, is a graduate and alum of SJU and discovered 2 years ago that they hold an annual event each year with the aim of giving back to those who have less

Kristen is also President of her high school’s alum association (Villa Maria Academy) and thought joining the 2 schools in this event might be a good idea

Background (Cont.)Background (Cont.)In 2008, the SJU National Alumni Board began a

new tradition rooted in the Jesuit tradition of service to others. The goal was to identify one day each year when SJU alumni could come together and serve their local communities no matter where they were in life…or in the world.

That first year, they were up and running in five cities: Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia. Since then, National Community Day has grown exponentially and has now GONE GLOBAL!

Sites and SelectionSites and Selection

Kristen presented the idea that Villa alum join SJU alum and target 2 locations each year to help with any need they may have

The first year the groups traveled to the Food Cupboard in Chester, PA and the Literacy Center in Coatesville, PA doing painting and other manual labor projects

Sites and Selection (Cont.)Sites and Selection (Cont.)Additionally, Kristen was able to raise a total of $5-6K

combined for each site with corporate donations from companies such as Wal-mart, Office Depot and Sam’s Club

Volunteers also brought bag after bag of donated goods filling the needs they had for these sites that are in very poor areas

2012 Sites2012 SitesThis year Kristen headed up the project

again but thought Josh was old enough to join in and see first hand what it means to give your time and effort to organizations in communities that have so little

The sites were Camilla Hall in Malvern, PA and the Incarnation School and Convent in Philadelphia, PA

2012 Sites (Cont.)2012 Sites (Cont.)Josh went along with his mom to the Philadelphia site,

riding in a donated moving van with donated lunches for all volunteering – the mission, to help move items to a flea market for sale since the school and convent were being closed due to low enrollment

Paying it ForwardPaying it ForwardJosh, his mom and many other volunteers, including the

Sisters themselves, rolled up their sleeves to get as much done as possible - the day was bittersweet, helping a school that needed it but helping them because the school was closing

How Good it Feels to Give!How Good it Feels to Give!At the end of the day, the meaning was clear –

always give more then you take, never think you have it so hard until you see what others are going through – Josh had a great time and we hope in a few years to also include Addison in upcoming projects!

Upcoming ProjectsUpcoming ProjectsBoth Josh and Addison will be taking part on May 19th in

the Health Kick event hosted by Master P’s Tae Kwon Do school in West Chester – Josh is a green belt and Addison is a blue stripe and are accepting any size donation for this event

The students as a whole will be breaking 1000 boards that morning with 100% of the fundraising efforts going to Chester County Hospital, one of the last non profit hospitals in our area

Congratulations Joshua!Congratulations Joshua!This short presentation is to recognize that no matter how

old or young you are, like Josh at age 9, and Addison at age 5, you can always make a difference! Congratulations Josh on participating in your first community service project and good luck to you and your sister on May 19th!