Largest Student Group at Holy Cross Celebrates 40 Years of Community Service in Worcester

WORCESTER, Mass. – Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD), a student-run community service organization at the College of the Holy Cross, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. SPUD will be marking the anniversary with a breakfast event on Sunday, April 6, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom.

During the breakfast, alumni, students, and several community partners will have an opportunity to talk about the relationship between SPUD and the Worcester community. The event will begin with remarks from Rev. Michael McFarland, S.J., president of the College; Annette Rafferty, director of Abby’s house, will give the keynote speech; and Pat Clancy ’68 will receive an award for his role as the founder of SPUD. There will be performances by the Nativity School choir and the Delilah’s, an a cappella group at the College.

“Students at Holy Cross have taken this anniversary year as an opportunity to reflect on the relationships we have formed with our neighbors in Worcester and to consider how we can grow in our commitment to solidarity with the most vulnerable among us,” explains Marybeth Kearns-Barrett ‘84, associate chaplain and director of service and social justice at the College. “We have focused on trying to find ways to build on our tradition of service to become women and men committed to social justice for all people.”

SPUD, the largest student organization on campus, was started in 1968 by Clancy as a way to connect college students to the local community and to “create a better Worcester for all of its citizens.” Sponsored by the Office of the College Chaplains, it now consists of over 40 different community outreach programs including social agencies, service programs and schools in the Greater Worcester community. SPUD has over 800 active members — almost a third of the student body. On a weekly basis, students tutor, feed the hungry, and share their skills, but most importantly build relationships with those who are marginalized.

The group has influenced the lives of many. “Without my involvement as a volunteer in SPUD, my entire life would probably be different,” says Sarah Fontaine ’08, a SPUD leader. “Having that weekly contact with those who are materially less fortunate than I has forced me to reevaluate my priorities, my goals, and who I hope to be in the future.”