Dr. Harold Rodinsky

Dr. Harold Rodinsky, organizer of Meet the Mission, cleans out an old storage shed at the back of the Inner City Development property with students participating in the event. “This task produced the story of the world’s largest petrified rat,” Rodinsky joked.

University of the Incarnate Word students and faculty members kicked off the fall semester celebrating the university’s Mission. UIW’s fourth annual Meet the Mission, held Friday, Sept. 11, took more than 225 UIW students and 30 faculty members around the city providing San Antonio with a day of community service.

Participants began the day at 7:30 a.m. with a spiritual send-off provided by Campus Ministry. Then participants provided necessary services to the underserved and the needy at more than 20 social service institutions, such as the Salvation Army, Visitation House, St. Vincent DePaul Nutrition Center and the Children’s Shelter. The program is a continuation of the Mission of service that brought the first Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to San Antonio in 1881.

Many of the groups reached their destinations through VIA Metropolitan Transit, which provided a learning experience to those students who had never used public transportation.