Fordham offers its students a variety of unique ways to get involved in the wider Bronx community, and I am going to blog about just one of them: something called service-learning classes. In a service-learning class, your coursework is paired with a certain amount of required service with an organization that relates to the topic of the class. I am currently enrolled in a service-learning class called Religion in the Modern World, and I am expected to log about 30 volunteer hours with a Bronx organization called the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. During class, my five classmates and I read the work of different liberation theologians, and relate their works back to our experiences interacting with the Bronx community.
More specifically, we are focusing on the responsible redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, an abandoned armory about 15 minutes from Fordham's campus. We are circulating a petition that will help put living-wage jobs in the armory, since the building is currently vacant, and two developers are battling for control of the site. I have also been able to attend a rally with the Coalition, which allowed me to see the pride that Bronx residents have for their community and the extent to which they are determined to have a say in an issue that so directly impacts their lives. This has been eye-opening work for me; before I enrolled in this class, I didn't even know who the Bronx borough president was. It feels great to get more involved in the community that I have called home for two years.
This organization is just one example of the relationship that Fordham University has with its surrounding community. Members of the Fordham University community actually played a hand in the Coalition's formation back in 1974, and to this day, the group is sprinkled with student volunteers as well as faculty participants. In fact, just last weekend, the Coalition's annual gala took place on Fordham's campus. As a Fordham student, I am proud to call the Bronx my home, and I am so grateful to have this unique opportunity to become more involved in the current issues that are affecting the Bronx.
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