CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Oct. 12, 2022) — On Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, Thomas More University closed normal activities on campus, allowing faculty, staff, and students to participate in the second annual Saints Serve, a day of service benefiting local non-profits and charities. The campus-wide, day-long event allows the Thomas More community to come together and assist those in need throughout northern Kentucky and the greater Cincinnati region. Day classes were canceled so that all traditional students could participate. Students enrolled in online and accelerated programs were also invited to lend a hand.

Over 1,200 Thomas More volunteers, including students, faculty, staff, and Board of Trustee members, participated in over 70 projects with more than 55 organizations across greater Cincinnati resulting in more than 3,000 hours of service performed in support of community neighbors. Partner organizations are up from last year’s number of 44, with many of last year’s participants returning in 2022. Returning members include: Covington Rotary, ORSANCO, Master Provisions, Parish Kitchen, BeConcerned, FreeStore Foodbank, City of Crestview Hills, Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery, Brighton Center, Emergency Shelter, Empower Youth, Go Pantry, Hosea House, Matthew 25 Ministries, Project Linus, Redwood, Rose Garden, Wasson Way, YWCA. New partners for Saints Serve 2022 included the Great Parks of Hamilton County, City of Wilder, Cincinnati Animal CARE Humane Society, Best Point Education and Behavioral Health, Ft. Thomas Forest Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity, Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky, Julie Learning Center, Life Learning Center, Lighthouse Youth and Family Services, New Hope Center, Point Arc, Ronald McDonald, Shelterhouse, St. Vincent de Paul, Su Casa Hispanic Center of Cincinnati, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank.

“For 101 years, our University has been deeply committed to our Catholic values and traditions,” said Thomas More University President Joseph L. Chillo, LP.D., kicking off the day in a video message to participants. “Through these service projects, we engage in the principles of Catholic social teaching as well as maintain the University’s long-standing history of selfless commitment to others. Please use today’s service learning as an opportunity to reflect. As always, we encourage you to examine your place in the world, your responsibility to others, and the ultimate meaning of life.” Chillo’s message preceded an opening prayer given by Rev. Gerald E. Twaddell, D. Phil., faculty member and University chaplin.

In addition to hands-on service projects, this year the University also held donations drives for those impacted by the July flooding, mudslides, and landslides in Eastern Kentucky. Both building and school supplies were collected to help those in need. Items will be sent to several schools and libraries in the region to distribute. Community members could also make monetary donations to the Hindman Settlement School and the Campus Flood Relief, which helps students from Alice Lloyd College who have faced significant loss.

For more information about Thomas More University, visit www.thomasmore.edu.

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About Thomas More University

For 100 years, Thomas More has created a university for the student who wants to Be More, Do More, Seek More, Win More, Achieve More, and Create More. Since its founding in 1921, Thomas More has provided a mission-driven, liberal arts education that is based in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Students learn to harness the power of human reason to solve problems and discover truth, which allows them to begin the journey to become the person they were created to be. Entering into the second century, it’s time for More. Serving more than 2,000 students, Thomas More aspires to be the premier Catholic university in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, build upon its excellent return on investment (ranked #1 among private universities/colleges in Kentucky by MSN Money in 2021 and ranked #2 for long term gain in Kentucky by a 2022 Georgetown University study) and share with this generation the transformative power of the Thomas More experience. To find out more, visit thomasmore.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyna Kelley, director of communications and PR, [email protected], 859.344.3309