San Antonio – More than 500 St. Mary’s University students, faculty and staff reached out to the San Antonio community on Saturday, Aug. 22 giving more than 2,100 community service hours – in one day! These are record numbers for St. Mary’s.

Eighty student-athletes from the men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball and softball teams also joined in the bi-annual Continuing the Heritage community service event. Continuing the Heritage is held at the start of each new semester and is sponsored by the St. Mary’s Service Learning Center and the Marianist Leadership Program. The event is in its eleventh year.

This year the St. Mary’s community helped 17 San Antonio organizations, with special emphasis on projects on the West Side near St. Mary’s campus. The different projects included community gardens, graffiti clean up, a Habitat for Humanity build and working at homeless shelters.

More than 70 percent of St. Mary’s students participate in community service; last year students engaged in more than 125,000 community service hours. Accordingly, St. Mary’s has been recognized by the President of the United States’ Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll three years in a row.

Coordinated through the Service Learning Center, Rattler student-athletes are involved in more than two dozen different community services projects each year.  Last year, the Rattlers were involved with Habitat for Humanity, First Tee, Dig for a Cure, blood drives, the Bexar Country SPCA and visiting children at Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital.

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