Student Development and Success Menu
Community Day
25 Years of Community Day
October 1, 2025
Bringing Alverno students, faculty and staff together for community building and service
This year, we will be focusing on building, serving and finding support in community.
Undergraduate classes are cancelled until 4 p.m. to allow for participation. We challenge you to choose to use your day to engage with the Alverno Community!
Schedule
| 8 a.m. | Check in at the Commons Lobby |
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcome and Keynote from Tracy Stockwell |
| 8:55 a.m. | Group Picture |
| 9 a.m. | Travel to Community Day Activity |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch as a Community |
| 1 p.m. | St. Francis Day Pet Blessing |
| 1:30 p.m. | Community Conversations |
Sites
Participants will sign up for one site to participate in from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. The sites are listed below:
Outdoor/Environmental
Athletics Highway Clean Up (off campus)
Go with the Athletics Department to clean up their sponsored section of the highway.
Bioswale
Clean and weed the campus bioswale.
Rain Garden
Learn about rain gardens and clean out the rain garden to prepare it for winter.
Urban Ecology Washington Park or Menomonee Valley (off campus)
Work to preserve and restore the natural land surrounding our three branches, helping to make these spaces healthy, safe and exciting places for kids and adults to learn about and enjoy nature. Volunteers help with invasive plant removal and trail maintenance work.
Hunger Task Force Farm (off campus)
Harvest fall crops and clean gardens.
Beach and Park Clean Up (off campus)
Clean up litter from South Shore Beach and Park.
Effective Citizenship
St. Ben's Sandwich Making
Learn about how providing food for the homeless reflects our Franciscan values while making PB&J sandwiches.
Wear Your Voice: Art, Care, and the Radical Act of Speaking your Story
Join us for a hands-on Community Day workshop celebrating women’s stories through creative expression. Using printmaking, jewelry-making and collective art, we’ll explore how nurturing our individual creativity can ripple outward to strengthen and uplift our community.
Make your voice visible, share in story circles and contribute to a collaborative artwork that amplifies our collective power. Together, we’ll honor women’s creative labor and claim making as an act of care, resistance, and transformation.
This event centers women’s experiences and all genders are welcome.
Discussion with the League of Women Voters
Participants will take part in an engaging and interactive dialogue about why your vote matters and voting rights.
Alverno Ambassador
The Marketing and Advancement departments are looking for students to volunteer to be part of a photo shoot. Photos will be used for (but not limited to) social media, the website, print materials for the college and advertising. Students can expect:
- To have photos taken both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting)
- To share basic information (name, major, expected graduation date) as well as answer questions like “Why did you choose Alverno?” “What’s makes studying [student’s major] at Alverno unique?” “What do you love about Alverno?” etc.
- If students have a unique or compelling story to share, we want to hear that too! (Did a scholarship make your education possible? Did you transfer here from another college and if so, why? Do you have a unique business/job/challenge you’ve overcome that would make for a compelling magazine article or media pitch?)
Community Conversations
On Community Day, we are hoping the Alverno Community will come together to discuss topics that are important to them and our community as a whole. The Community Conversations will be smaller group conversations that are facilitated by a community member.
Possible topics include:
- Mental health
- Making campus connections
- Politics and activism
- Franciscan values
- Communication during hard times
- Knowing your rights
