Webster Works Worldwide: Helping Communities Around the World

VIDEO: How Community Service Makes a Difference to Those Who are in Need
Click Here to view video: Watch this video to understand the value and importance just one day of service can make to a community. Time: 6:30 Need Quicktime?

Annually, Webster University sponsors a campus-wide community service day in partnership with local agencies and nonprofit organizations. Students, faculty, staff and
alumni from Webster campuses around the world work in
teams to accomplish tasks that agencies often neglect due to lack of time and resources. Projects include light construction work, tutoring, painting, yardwork, working with children or seniors, park and forest restoration, consulting, and fine arts projects.

A Brief History

Upon his arrival as president of the University in 1994, Dr. Richard S. Meyers implemented a campus-wide community service day in lieu of an inaugural ceremony. The first WWW day was held on November 8, 1995. Teams and individual Webster students, faculty, staff and alumni identified a need in their neighborhoods. Through partnerships with local non-profit agencies, hospitals, parks, daycare centers and schools, volunteers took one day off from work and school to volunteer at various projects and help those in need.

What the volunteers and agencies learned from the experience left a lasting impression. Whether improving a playground, doing office work for a non-profit agency, raking leaves, painting a wall, delivering meals to the elderly or entertaining an appreciative audience, volunteers and service recipients alike shared an increased understanding of our interdependency - how even one day can make a difference to someone in need.

Today, Webster’s annual community service day – appropriately titled WebsterWorksWorldwide – has grown into a worldwide University tradition. Held every October, volunteers and agencies alike look forward to partnering on projects that really matter to the community.

Since the start of WebsterWorksWorldwide, more than 16,000 volunteers have given more than 70,000 hours of service. No matter how Webster University volunteers choose to donate their time, they make a difference in their communities and help those in need. Because of every individual’s effort, WebsterWorksWorldwide continues to grow in impact and meaning.