Approximately 40 faculty members and 250 freshmen students will participate in a day of philanthropy Friday, taking a break from text books to roll up their sleeves and give back to the San Antonio community.

For the fourth year in a row, members of the UIW community will participate in this day of service.

The event is part of the university’s “Meet the Mission” program, which encourages UIW faculty, students and staff to reach out to the San Antonio community by helping others in need and thus remembering the foundation for which the University was established in 1881.

This year, the UIW group will team up with 25 non-profit agencies including Travis Park Methodist Church, the SAMM Shelter, the Salvation Army, the San Antonio Food Bank and the San Antonio Children’s Shelter. The group will also visit a number of agencies that the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word have historically supported including St. PJ’s Children’s Home and St. Mary Magdalene-St. Vincent De Paul.

Another new aspect of the program will be how the groups travel to the various agencies. The majority of the groups will take the bus to reach their destinations. This form of transportation will not only allow the University to save on rising gas prices but will allow the students to learn about San Antonio’s public transportation system, an area that most of the students participating have never experienced.