Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Puerto Rico)
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC) is a private university founded in 1880 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, making it one of the oldest universities in Puerto Rico. USC’s mission ” is to educate intellectually free and morally responsible men and women, willing to participate in building a more authentic Christian Puerto Rican society: a community united in its purpose to seek justice and peace.” In pursuit of this mission, USC encourages the blending of the classroom and the outside world. There are a variety of activities and initiatives that undertake these efforts including:
- La Red whose volunteers promote healthy life style in intermediate and high schools through artistic presentations that promotes alcohol, drug and violence prevention;
- Academic Service Learning, which integrates faculty, students, the community, nonprofit organizations (NPO’s) and community-based organizations (CBO’s) to address the needs of the community. Through this project students develop and strengthen their academic skills by designing specific community projects according to the needs identified by the communities and organizations as part of their coursework in selected courses;
- Volunteer Development Center (VDC). The most recent institutional community-linked project, trains and provides technical assistance on Volunteer Management to Non-Profit and Community-Based organizations and educational, government, and private entities; it promotes and expands volunteer engagement throughout Puerto Rico with particular emphasis on college students.