Events
Hofstra in the Community
By Ginny Ehrlich-Greenberg
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“It speaks to the values of Hofstra as an institution,” says Vice President for Student Affairs Sandra Johnson. “We want to cultivate a value-centered philosophy here, and we do that from the point of admission.” In fact, volunteerism was incorporated into the New Student Orientation program for the Class of 2010. “We asked all incoming students to bring crayons, paper, and other school supplies. We packaged these goods and shipped them to a school district in Texas — an area where a lot of people relocated after Hurricane Katrina, and the district did not have the resources to accommodate all the new students.” This project encouraged the students to work together as a class and feel a sense of pride in their accomplishments as a group.
According to Dean Ellis, Hofstra students logged 1,040 hours of community service in 2006. Eighty percent of those hours, she says, were community efforts initiated by the students. Campus offices provided staffing and organizational support.
A Friend In Need,
“Look what they did with the [2006] Sinterklaas Festival,” says Vice President Johnson. “The idea is that we come together at the University to celebrate the diversity of our beliefs. In recent years the students have taken this as an opportunity to extend our community beyond the borders of the campus.” This year's holiday celebration included a gift drive for the local Boys and Girls Club. In 2005 student clubs and organizations raised money and dedicated time to decorating and donating Christmas trees for families in need.
Other impressive efforts include “Light the Night” for leukemia; Phi Epsilon's annual spaghetti dinner, which raises money for cancer research or a cancer patient, Hofstra Hillel's Songs of Love program (also for cancer patients), and the Thanks & Giving Project. There are food drives for the Interfaith Nutrition Network, blood drives, and coat, blanket and sheet collections. Students also work closely with a number of organizations such as Meals on Wheels and with community centers that sponsor programs for the elderly.
That the students are volunteering in greater numbers is wonderful. But what most impresses the Office of Student Affairs is that these young men and women are constantly thinking of unique ways to serve. They want to be involved in their own programming and are devising ways to fund their events and mobilize their peers.
New Orleans — A Transformative Experience
Perhaps the best example of students taking the inspiration and success of one program and inventing another is the 2006 alternative spring break trip to New Orleans. Inspired by the story of a single mother who lost everything as a result of Hurricane Katrina, 16 Hofstra students and three administrators donated their April vacation to participate in the relief and cleanup effort. Working with Catholic Charities and Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, the students tackled jobs such as minor construction, cleaning of debris and providing hospitality to families still displaced.
The Dean of Students Office and Hofstra Concerts volunteered to provide transportation and housing for the students. Student Activities and the Campus Catholic Parish took the lead in coordinating the trip. Other involved student organizations at Hofstra included the Student Government Association, Students for Life, the Newman Club and the Interfraternal Sororal Council.
This trip was a life-changing experience for participants, and it has resulted in another alternative spring break. From March 30 to April 5, 2007, nine Hofstra students will travel to Bluff, Utah, where they will be working with St. Christopher's Mission to the Navajo. During that week students will work closely with residents of the Navajo reservation, helping to rebuild, restore and renew homes in this impoverished area.
“The momentum from New Orleans is what is driving this opportunity,” says Vice President Johnson. “We are now well on our way to offering an annual alternative spring break trip that is initiated by our students. There are many commercial alternative spring break programs out there, but this is Hofstra-inspired, Hofstra-based and Hofstra-organized.”
Civic-Minded Citizens
Involvement in the community is also driving interest in local and national politics. Hofstra students reported on-site from local Democratic and Republican headquarters as they covered the 2006 mid-term elections for WRHU (Radio Hofstra University), 88.7 FM. Other students who wanted to watch the election night returns gathered at the Political Junkies' Election Night Party, sponsored by the Political Science Department.
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