Date: Mar 13, 2007

HOFSTRA STUDENTS SPEND THEIR SPRING BREAK HELPING OTHERS

Hofstra Students to do community service work on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY -Hofstra students and administrators will spend their spring break, March 30 through April 5, 2007, doing volunteer work with St. Christopher's Mission of the Navajo,a Navajo Indian Reservation in Bluff, Utah.  This is the second annual "Spring Break Alternative Trip" for Hofstra students, who last year helped rebuild homes in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. The program is sponsored by Hofstra's Campus Catholic Parish and the Office of Student Activities.

The trip is a great opportunity for students to practice humility and compassion through service to others.  While on the reservation the students will restore homes, work with children and participate in a variety of other volunteer projects.

"These students, besides giving up their spring breaks, are taking a memorable trip that will change them both emotionally and mentally," said Kimberly Rhyan, Assistant Director of Student Activities. "This trip will allow them to encounter an impoverished culture within the Unites States that they most likely otherwise would never encounter, providing them an opportunity to practice compassion."

Students participating in the program are required to attend mandatory training sessions for all which include assigned readings, fundraising etiquette and leadership training.  Other topics that students will discuss will be Team and Community Building, Compassionate Actions, Service-Learning, The Culture of the Navajo, and Conflict Resolution.

"I am spending my spring break trip in Utah so that I can spend my time giving back to a community that doesn't have the opportunities that I have," said Christina Martin, a student participant in the program. "I hope to come back with a sense of fulfillment and knowledge of a new culture."

Hofstra University provides a dynamic college experience tailored for innately ambitious, outcome-oriented individuals. Students find their edge at Hofstra, through small classes, a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities.