280 Holy Cross Students to Spend Spring Break Engaged in Community Service

The Holy Cross Chaplains’ Office reports that 280 students — or one in 10 students at the College — will spend their spring break, March 5 to 9, doing community service.

Students will work in 26 different locations in 12 states across the country, including sites in Appalachia, New Orleans, Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas as part of the 37th annual Spring Break Immersion Program.

For the second year in a row, 38 students will spend the week in immersion experiences at L’Arche communities in six cities across the country. L’Arche is a faith-based international federation of people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Students will work on a range of activities depending on the site. They assist communities with home repair, clean up and paint; work in schools, soup kitchens and women's shelters; call on the elderly or disabled people, and learn about the various cultures of the regions.

"We are in awe at the large numbers of Holy Cross students who seek this type of experience year after year," says Martin Kelly, assistant chaplain and director of the Spring Break Immersion program. "I truly feel that the program's success is in the experience of real community that students have during the week — both with their peers from Holy Cross and with their hosts in cities and small towns across the country."

As in past years, student leaders have been organizing program details since September, including securing sites and student participation. This year's co-chairs are Katie Giardino, of Cranston, R.I., Sara MacKenzie, of Westwood Mass., and Michael Rogers, of East Providence, R.I.

Students who take part in the program gain a lot from the experience.

“It is a meaningful way to spend a week — they meet new friends, they provide service to communities in need, they form relationships with people from many walks of life, they explore faith together, and they ask larger questions about social justice which arise from their experiences," says Kelly.

The Chaplains’ Office received financial support from the Student Government Association, the President’s Office, Holy Cross Alumni Association, Holy Cross’ Jesuit Community, and the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

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