Appa Volunteers — more commonly called “Appa” — is a service-immersion program committed to working with under-resourced populations in the United States via shared service and direct encounter. The heart of our work is spent in community, when we travel to 30 different cities and towns during spring break, living in solidarity alongside the families that we commit to serve.
What We Do
Learn, through discussion and reflection, about the societal realities in the United States that leave some marginalized.
Consider how our faith asks us to respond to the social injustices that create entrenched poverty.
Foster a commitment to service throughout the year.
Embrace the Gospel’s call to “love one another.”
COVID-19 Statement: Appa has adapted its typical program structure under the unique conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. With our community partners in mind, we have opted for local weekend service around the Greater Boston Area. Our commitment to our community partners, however, has not waivered, as we aim to support them in any way possible this year.
Appa Volunteers is an alternative spring break service-immersion program committed to working alongside underserved populations in the United States. More than 400 students travel coast-to-coast with us each year, encountering community and service in both urban areas (New Orleans, Detroit, etc.) and rural areas (throughout the South and the Appalachian regions).
We meet biweekly throughout the school year to learn about the structural and social realities that leave some people marginalized, and we draw on Boston College’s Jesuit tradition in considering how faith might ask us to respond to social injustices.
Boston College was one of the first universities to sponsor an alternative spring break trip when Gregg Cassin, BC ’80, and 19 classmates traveled to Vanceburg, Kentucky in February 1979 for an eight-day trip centered on the tenets of service and solidarity.
“We’re out to raise the awareness of BC students in terms of the people of Appalachia,” Cassin told The Heights at the time. “People can’t conceive of third world conditions existing in our own country.”
The BC students lived simply that week, working to repair homes and farms while building relationships with the community and growing personally in emotional and spiritual ways. Their time together, Cassin told The Heights, brought to life “what Christ meant when he said, ‘Whatever you do to the last of mine, let you do unto me.'”
The Appa Volunteers program has grown substantially since then. The group nearly doubled in size in its second year, with 34 students traveling to Kentucky and Ohio in 1980 to experience poverty in the United States. Some 20 years later, in 2000, 460 students raised almost $150,000 to support a program that had grown to spread from the borders of Maine to North Carolina.
Today, Boston College’s Appa program celebrates more than 35 years of service and solidarity with and for the poor of the United States. Students annually raise more than $300,000 necessary to travel around the country, building homes, building community, and learning how to live just lives.
Read an article from The Heights in 1979 to learn more about the beginnings of Appa Volunteers.
Appa Volunteers introduces students to the Catholic Jesuit mission of the University, encourages students to integrate moral and ethical principles with their experience of service and immersion, and helps them decide how to use their gifts in service to others. After participating in the Appa Volunteers Program, students will be able to:
1. Identify and analyze the structural roots of poverty in the United States.
2. Articulate one aspect of Boston College’s Jesuit charism and apply it to daily life
3. Formulate a plan to continue participating in acts of service and solidarity beyond involvement in Appa
Joining Appa is as easy as showing up. We have no application process; any student who wants to participate can. We simply ask that you complete our registration form and commit to the following requirements:
Registering for Appa
Terms & Conditions: All students participating in Appa must submit basic registration information and the program’s terms and conditions form online.
Participation and Attendance
General Formation Meetings: We meet on Sunday’s from 4:30-6 p.m. in various classrooms across campus to respect the guidelines around social distancing. Small groups will meet together and watch meeting content over Zoom. See the timeline below for dates of all our meetings.
Meeting Attendance: Attendance at meetings is mandatory. Members who cannot make a meeting should e-mail their Appa leaders ahead of time to alert them of their absence. Continued unexcused absences may result in dismissal from the program.
Finances and Fundraising
Program Fee: There is no program fee for Appa 2020-2021.
Raffle: Students are responsible for selling and submitting $25 worth of raffle tickets by January 31. You can submit raffle payment via cash, check (payable to Boston College), or credit card. To pay via credit card:
- Visit bc.edu/ummstpm
- Log in with BC username and password via Sign in to My Account button in the upper right hand corner
- Under the list of UMM Programs You Have Been Accepted Into, click the red Make Payment button on the Appa Volunteers line
- Enter the amount you would like to pay in the respective Payment Amount field and click Make Payment
- You will be redirected to the secure CashNet page where you can submit your payment information. You will receive an email confirming your successful payment.
Timeline 2020-2021
September 27, 2020 |
Appa Welcome |
October 4, 2020 |
General Formation Meeting |
October 18, 2020 |
General Formation Meeting |
November 1, 2020 |
General Formation Meeting |
November 15, 2020 |
General Formation Meeting |
January 31, 2021 |
General Formation Meeting Appa Spring Orientation Raffle Due |
February 14, 2021 |
General Formation Meeting |
February 28, 2021 |
General Formation Meeting |
March 6, 2021 |
Appa Weekend! (Send-off Liturgy, Local Service, and Small Group Reflections)* |
March 13, 2021 |
Appa Weekend! (Send-off Liturgy, Local Service, and Small Group Reflections)* |
March 20, 2021 |
Appa Weekend! (Send-off Liturgy, Local Service, and Small Group Reflections)* |
April 2021 |
Unpacking Appa Meeting(s) |
Each participant will be selected for one of three Appa Weekends in March 2021.
Appa Volunteers is animated by the work of 60 student leaders in all facets of the program.
The following leadership positions are available:
- AppaLeaders are extensively trained on servant leadership and service immersion practices. 2 Appa Leaders are assigned to each site, and commit to facilitate respectful, safe, and meaningful experiences for participants and community partners. Click here to apply.
- Appa Council Members are 12 TLs that serve as the program’s executive leadership on our Appa Council. They work in one of three committees: Fundraising, Formation, or Transportation. Click here to apply.
- Appa Head Coordinators are three students who serve as “leaders of leaders” in Appa’s community of Trip Leaders and participants. They work closely with the Appa Campus Minister and Graduate Assistants and dedicate their time overseeing all Appa Council committees and much of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into Appa.
Applications for leadership positions are released on March 28, 2021. Selections will be made by the end of April.
Thank you for considering a donation to the Appa Volunteers. Your tax-deductible donation is a valuable investment in a learning experience that many Boston College students will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Donate Online
- Visit the Online Giving Form
- Enter your information; for the field "I wish to make my gift to:” select Appa Volunteers. If you are sponsoring a certain student, please select "In honor of a BC student," and include their name and year.
- Click "Submit Gift"
Mail a Check
Appa Volunteers Program
Boston College, Office of Campus Ministry
McElroy Commons 233
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
If your corporation matches donations, please enclose the appropriate forms.
Appa Volunteers, under the umbrella of the Trustees of Boston College, is a non-profit 501(c)3 with a federal tax exemption number of 04-2103545.
Email
appalachia@bc.edu
Appa Office Hours
Monday - Friday: 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.
Carney 371
Mailing Address
Boston College
Campus Ministry: Appa Volunteers / McElroy 233
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Program Director
Ryan Heffernan
hefferra@bc.edu
617-552-3170
Graduate Assistants
Ally Liedtke
liedtke@bc.edu
Kellie Waters
waterske@bc.edu
