{"id":2062,"date":"2015-12-11T10:50:43","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T15:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:18:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:18:52","slug":"helping-dove-take-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/2015\/12\/helping-dove-take-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping DOVE Take Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the University\u2019s Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Seton Hall magazine profiles its founder, Jeanine Cavanagh.<\/p>\n

As the 1980s came to a close, America saw a surge in volunteerism, inspired by President George H.W. Bush\u2019s \u201cThousand Points of Light\u201d initiative. When Seton Hall decided to create an organization to coordinate its volunteer efforts, Jeanine Cavanagh \u201988\/M.A. \u201990 found herself \u201cin the right place at the right time\u201d to take the lead.<\/p>\n

Cavanagh had served as a student worker in Campus Ministry as an undergraduate, and Father Eugene Koch, director of Campus Ministry at the time, asked her to stay on as a graduate assistant to develop the programs and initiatives that would eventually become DOVE. \u201cThe best way I could love God and humanity was to put my faith and love into action and serve,\u201d she recalls. When Cavanagh graduated in 1990 with a master\u2019s degree in pastoral ministry, she became DOVE\u2019s first director.<\/p>\n

In DOVE\u2019s early years, with a surge in interest in student volunteering and the broad expansion of the types of organizations served, Cavanagh found herself wondering, \u201cIs this too ambitious? Is this even possible?\u201d Yet, she realized that \u201cwith University backing and the generous love of the students, through God, everything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cavanaghs\"<\/a>Cavanagh left DOVE in 1994 after the birth of her first child, Amanda. Now, 25 years after its creation, Cavanagh is most proud that DOVE has held true to its original purpose: to instill in all members of the University community a duty to serve others. \u201cUniversities that don\u2019t offer this kind of opportunity do their students a disservice,\u201d she says. \u201cNone of us go through life unscathed. This prepares you because you experience the suffering of others, and you are better prepared for situations where life is hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavanagh is delighted to know that the program now is in the capable and loving hands of director Michelle Peterson, M.A. \u201904 and assistant director Thomas Russomano, M.A. \u201908. \u201cWhen you love something into being, it\u2019s hard to let go,\u201d she says. \u201cBut Michelle and Tom have great faith. They\u2019re driven. They know that DOVE is what the students need, and what the world needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is also hard for parents to let go when their children go off to college. But Cavanagh takes comfort in the fact that her two oldest children have both chosen to attend Seton Hall. Both actively participate in DOVE, and Amanda, now a junior, is a work-study student with the organization. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier for them,\u201d Cavanagh says. \u201cBeing there, looking around, I know that this is home and everything will be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the University\u2019s Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Seton Hall magazine profiles its founder, Jeanine Cavanagh.<\/em><\/p>\n

Continue ReadingHelping DOVE Take Flight<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":2060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,258,9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-articles-2015-2019","category-catholicism","category-leadership","entry"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2178,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions\/2178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}