The Interfaith Community of San Antonio provides three main services: Volunteerism, education, and diversity days.
Volunteerism
Volunteering is ISCA’s primary focus for building key developmental values in our youth. By seeing the hardships faced by others, children are able to cultivate compassion for those less fortunate, as well as gratitude for the blessings in our lives. And by helping to alleviate suffering, they continually develop determination, teamwork, and a sense of self-value.
Each faith has basic tenements of helping those in need, charity, and community development. During our volunteer events, our faith leaders and other role models will be given the opportunity to link these good works back to their faiths, further strengthening the childrens’ growing understanding of their faith background.
Finally, by working in multicultural groups, children will have the opportunity to learn how to engage and work together with each other to achieve common goals, building commonalities and leadership skills.
ICSA volunteer events will primarily be projects at religious centers (churches, temples, etc.) that need assistance with project completion, as well as work at other local non-profit or interfaith organizations (Food Bank, Clothing/Book drives, etc).
The goal is to show that as a community, we love our neighbors regardless of culture, background, or faith and that we can all work together to make our community stronger, better, and more wholesome.
Education
At ICSA, interfaith education is a pivotal part of our cause. Understanding each other’s faiths is essential for a holistic understanding of the world and its various religions so that the community can appreciate, understand, and accept these differences without judgement and discrimination. For ICSA, this means conducting kid and young adult appropriate seminars, learning days, after-school classes, tours, and road trips, and other learning opportunities.
Students will also have the opportunity to work with their faith leaders to develop any type of presentation that their place of worship would like to host. This can include history, styles of worship, faith figures, general service, etc. The goal of this service is for children and families to expand their understanding of the cultures in San Antonio, strengthen their own understanding of their culture, and take pride in their own sense of “somebodyness”.
Diversity Days
Diversity Days are the fun days. Diversity Days are intended as field trips to our community’s religious centers, events, holidays, or days of fun with our interfaith community. Whether it’s a field trip to a religious center or a theme park, Diversity Days are to show off our interfaith and inter-cultural community to the world.