Households

Households must meet with the Director of Mission Outreach to schedule and plan all events, both on and off campus.

• How to reserve a room
  • Please contact Kerry Estes in the Office of Campus Ministry to talk about your event and the room you wish to reserve. A Room Reservation will be made at that time to check availability.
• How to submit an AV Ticket
  • Go to https://support.avemaria.edu/.
  • Please complete all information spaces to let the AV Team know your needs for your event. In the explanation box, please indicate the name of your Household and your event. You can also indicate any special requests there to see if the AV Team can accommodate you.
• How to submit event to My.Ave
  • Go to https://www.my.avemaria.edu/submit-events.
  • Click on "Submit an Event."
  • Complete all information for your event.
  • Have a poster ready to upload.
• How to have Metz Cater for an event / popular local catering options
  • Please contact Kerry Estes in the Office of Campus Ministry to talk about your event and the desire to have Metz cater. An email will be sent to Metz for them to consider the request. Metz can also give an estimation of the cost so the Household can discuss and decide. Please plan your event well in advance to obtain all the necessary information your Household needs for planning. Any request to Metz by a Household needs to have a staff overseeing.
  • Local catering is also an option but should be talked about with Kerry first. Ave Maria University is a tax exempt entity and a copy of this can be given to you to use for ordering/pick up. Approved orders can be placed by meeting with Kerry or emailing orders in to Kerry.estes@avemaria.edu.
• How to decorate using decorations from campus ministry and student life
  • Student Life Decorations: Reach out to Julianna.M.Rival@avemaria.edu asking if you can use items from the Student Life closet. Items can only be used with permission and with the intent of putting all back into the closet in the places you borrowed it from. Our desire is to keep closets neat, tidy and safe. If you are unsure what is available, ask if you can schedule a time to come to look to see if there may be items you can borrow. Borrowing instead of purchasing is a great way to keep costs down for your event. Student Life closet is located in Student Life.
  • Campus Ministry Items: Meet with the Office of Campus Ministry to ask to use items you may need. Campus Ministry items are located in different closets, chapels, etc. Hannah or Kerry can assist in directing you to items.
  • All items must be returned to their proper home. Our desire is to keep closets neat, tidy and safe.
  • *Failure to put items away properly or return them will cause the Household to not be able to borrow items in the future.
• How to get photos taken at your event

  Please contact Kerry Estes in the Office of Campus Ministry to talk about your event and the desire to have photos taken at your event. A Marketing Ticket will be submitted at that time. Marketing tickets can only be submitted by staff.

• How to sell tickets for an event

  Please contact Kerry Estes in the Office of Campus Ministry to talk about your event and when you wish to "Table" for your event to sell tickets. Tabling takes place in the Student Union across from the Post Office near the cafeteria. On your approved "Tabling" date, please come to the Office of Campus Ministry to check out the cash box and card reader. Tabling usually occurs at lunch and dinner times as this is when the most traffic come by the tables. Cash boxes are held in the Office of Campus Ministry to keep money safe and for the ease of the Household switching members who will be tabling.

• How to create and print a poster
  • Create the poster on Canva well in advance of your event.
  • Send the poster to Kerry or Hannah for review.
  • Campus Ministry will send to Dup Center to Print.
  • Student Life will stamp and hang.

• How to Plan a Campus Event (7 easy steps)

• How to book a chapel
  • Please email Campus Ministry with the time, date and chapel you wish to reserve. The Room Reservation Calendar will be checked for that space so that a booking can take place if available.
• How to book a priest

  Households are assigned a chaplain. Please contact your HH Chaplain to coordinate any needs for your Household. In establishing the Mass your Household would like to attend each week, discuss the Mass time that works best with your Household members and communicate with the staff in the Office of Campus Ministry that oversees Household Life.

Organize your own Household Service Opportunity 1. Speak to your Household Leader who oversees the Household Service/Volunteer Opportunities 2. Household Leader should connect with Jesse.Ray@avemaria.edu and the Mother Teresa Project to solidify project on HelperHelper. Trouble logging in to HelperHelepr should also be comminicated to Jesse Ray, head of the Mother Theresa Project. *Household leaders: note and communicate to Kerry Estes of Campus Ministry if a) this service opportunity open to those outside the Household and b) whether or not all household members will be participating in this service project.

Join an existing volunteer opportunity

• Rules and regulations for household common room decorations, storage, and furniture
  • Submit common room decoration, storage, and furniture requests through the Household Common Room request form.
  • Review the Household Common Rooms 2025 PDF before making changes or submitting requests.
  • Household Common Room request form
  • Household Common Rooms 2025 PDF
• Reserving household common room for regular meetings

  Please meet with the Campus Ministry representative for Household Life to select a Common Room. Knowledge of available Common Rooms will be shared to determine the best fit for your Household. The request will be submitted to Residence Life for their approval. Many of our Common Rooms are shared spaces with another Household. Household Common Rooms are cared for in a special way by Household Life, though the space is shared by all members of the dorm. *During meetings, please put a professional sign on the door indicating the name of your Household and the time you are using the room.

• How much money does my household have?

  Household Budgets are tracked by the Office of Campus Ministry. Household budgets should also be tracked by the Household to ensure that records are accurate when compared.

• How do I get reimbursed for household events?
  • Students can be reimbursed by providing actual store receipts to the Office of Campus Ministry. On the back of the receipt please write: Name of Household, Name of person being reimbursed (who purchased the items?), and home address. Please DO NOT use your Ave Maria University address but your home address.
  • Reimbursement checks are always picked up, in person, on the 3rd floor of the Library unless a student indicates the check needs to be mailed to their home address. Once this receipt is turned in, a check will be processed through the Business Office, and the purchaser will be notified to pick up the check in person. The purchaser themselves must be the recipient of their check, no substitutions.
• How can I purchase items for my Household/Household Event?
  • There are a few methods to utilize money in your budget:
  • Credit Card – please stop by the Campus Ministry Office and check out the Campus Ministry Credit Card. The items you purchase will be linked to your Household Account. When returning the pouch containing the credit card, please make sure ALL receipts of purchases are in the pouch. Please write on each receipt the name of your Household and the event for which it was purchased. Once this receipt is turned in, a check will be processed through the Business Office, and the purchaser will be notified to pick up the check in person. The purchaser themselves must be the recipient of their check, no substitutions.
  • Feel free to speak to the Campus Ministry leader to coordinate purchases.
  • Online ordering: If the student club or organization has online purchases that need to be made for the club (from Amazon, a restaurant delivery, etc.), the links and instructions can be emailed to the Office of Campus Ministry representative or can be ordered with them via a meeting.
• May I use Venmo when collecting for a Household Dance or Event that we are hosting as a fundraiser?

  No. All expenses for Households must be trackable in accordance with Business Office Guidelines. Please come to the Campus Ministry Office to check out a Card Reader. In this way you can accept debit cards, credit cards, etc. when students choose not to use cash. A Cash Box is also able to be checked out from the Campus Ministry Office for your tabling and event.

• How to order household shirts

  Please work with the office of Campus Ministry to order t-shirts. If you are a new Household, please consider the design, font, and colors you will be using. Please set a meeting with a Campus Ministry representative to get your first order placed. For reprinting of shirts and gear, simply email in your new order to the Campus Ministry representative including quantity and sizes. A Household leader/member will be included in the final approval process to ensure all on shirts is accurate before final printing.

• Does the Household pay for their own shirts?

  Yes. Please meet with a Campus Ministry representative if you are a new Household forming.

• How to order other household gear (sweatshirts, hats, bags, etc.)

  If you are a new Household, please set a meeting with a Campus Ministry representative.

• How to order household banners

  Please set a meeting with the Campus Ministry representative. If you are a new Household, please consider the design, font, and colors you will be using on your banner.

• How to update household website
  • Go to https://services.avemaria.edu/.
  • Click on "Digital Strategy Team," then select "Website Change."
  • Specify what you want changed with as much detail as possible. Do not submit the ticket until you have gathered all the necessary information for your household page.
  • Have the following ready before submitting: About Title, About (full description), About Summary (short blurb shown on the households list page), Mission Statement, Patron Saints, Charisms, How to Join / Admission Process, Contact Email, Contact Phone, your household crest image, a hero/banner image, and (optional) a video URL.
• How to access household marketing photos

  Please contact Kerry Estes in the Office of Campus Ministry so a ticket can be put into Marketing to obtain the pictures needed. Marketing tickets can only be submitted by staff.

• Meeting with Campus Ministry at beginning of the school year

  Wednesday, August 26th at 5:45pm in the Campus Ministry Lounge

• Important Information
  • Other important information to regularly update as a Household Leader:
  • Roster of your Household when new members join. Please do this within the week after new members join.
  • New Leaders of your Household. Please be sure to communicate this with Kerry Estes in the Campus Ministry Office/introduce new leaders. As well, please add new leaders to the Household Group Chat so there is no break in communication to the Household.
  • Regularly update your ticket to IT related to your Household email address. IT needs to receive a new ticket indicating the email addresses of past members to remove who had permission to check the email, and email addresses you wish to add for those will take their place.
• When do we carry our banners?
  • Household Banners are carried at:
  • Orientation Mass
  • Opening Mass
  • Household Day at the Football Field (Date TBA)
  • Feast of Annunciation Mass
• When is Household Leadership Retreat?

  Household Leadership takes place the first weekend after we return to campus for Spring Term. (January). We leave campus from the Fountains at 5:15pm to head to the Retreat Center. We are back on campus on Sunday by 1:00pm.