La Salle to sponsor spring service trip

By Ann Marie Gorden
Collegian Reporter
September 20, 2006

La Salle is currently planning a trip for students to work with Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit Christian housing project that provides shelter for the homeless.

Students have participated in similar service projects such as “Week of Hope,” an alternative to spring break, in which students traveled to Boston to help homebound patients dealing with AIDS. This year, La Salle has decided to try something new, and changed their service project for the year 2006-2007 to Habitat for Humanity.

Many students are already familiar with Habitat for Humanity and their work around the United States, but this organization does work around the globe. Habitat for Humanity is an international organization helping those all over the world suffering from homelessness due to events like environmental disasters and civil wars. The organization has been active in the war-torn Middle East, reporting on its Web site that “decades of civil war and occupation have left one-third of Lebanon’s population displaced — nearly one million Lebanese.”

La Salle has decided to work with Habitat for Humanity and a program called the “Collegiate Challenge.” This program provides an opportunity for students from colleges across the country to spend a week of their spring break building houses around the United States. This opportunity provides students with a chance to visit other areas of the country and meet new people, all while helping others. The service project will take place from May 20-26 of this school year.

“This is a commitment of time and money,” Bro. Robert Kinzler of UMAS said. Kinzler, along with student leaders Lauren Taylor and Andrea Stein, are currently working on planning the trip. Since Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization, students will be fundraising to earn the money for necessities like transportation, hotel accommodations and meals throughout the school year.

As of now, there is no set location on where La Salle students will be lending their hands. Since there is still much rebuilding to be done in the Gulf Coast areas affected by the hurricane season of 2005, La Salle is hoping to help those victimized by Hurricane Katrina rebuild their community.

Once there is a set location, which will be decided upon in the next few weeks, La Salle will notify the La Salle community via the portal. Anyone interested should contact Kinzler.

gordena1@lasalle.edu