Date: Mar 18, 2009

Hofstra Students Spend Fourth Consecutive Spring Break Helping Others

Students Return To New Orleans for A Week of Service

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – For the fourth consecutive year Hofstra University students will spend their spring break helping others in New Orleans as part of Hofstra’s Alternative Spring Break program. Students will return to the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina from April 4 through April 11, 2009.

“This is a great opportunity for Hofstra students to practice humility and compassion for others through service,” said Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Activities Kim Rhyan. “The preparations and experience of this trip is a chance for our students to encounter impoverished culture within the United States. This trip is an emotional, mental, and financial commitment as well as a sacrifice of a spring break of leisure and the comforts of home.”

This year, the students will “Light Up a Life” by installing 1,500 energy efficient light-bulbs in 50 homes with the non-profit organization Green Light New Orleans and also volunteer their time with the Community of St. Bernard Project by visiting local schools and serving in a local soup kitchen. The 12 students were required to fundraise $675 for the cost of the trip and attend mandatory training sessions focusing on the topics of friend-raising, compassion, and teamwork.

The team will also host the Light Up a Life: Art Auction on Monday, March 23, 2009 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Hofstra University Club, Davis S. Mack Hall, North Campus. All proceeds will help the team reach their fundraising goal of $8,100. The students have raised $6,100 to date.

For more information on Light Up A Challenge and the Alternative Spring Break program visit http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentActivities/Service/Service_opportunities.html . For more information on Green Light New Orleans visit http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/ and for more information on the Community of St. Bernard Project visit http://www.habitat-nola.org/projects/st_bernard.php

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 145 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.