Lasallian Immersion and Volunteer Experience (LIVE)
The Lasallian Immersion and Volunteer Experience (LIVE) gives students the opportunity to perform community service projects and create lasting friendships with fellow Explorers. Our LIVE students have contributed over 15,000 total hours of service in communities from New Jersey to Kenya.
Our Mission
The mission of the Lasallian Immersion & Volunteer Experience is to give students the opportunity to gain knowledge and first-hand experience of social justice issues, both at home and abroad, through meaningful service done in partnership with local communities to better live our common Lasallian values of faith, service, and community.
Our Purpose
UMAS offers students opportunities to confront the challenges that many local communities face. These Programs embody the Lasallian vision of intellectual and spiritual development by working together to foster growth, understanding, and change as students experience a deeper sense of what it means to live and work in solidarity with a community.
Lasallian Immersion and Volunteer Experience is dedicated to living out Lasallian values by gaining understanding of the global community and the social justice issues that affect that community.
Through capacity-building efforts, La Salle students discover the importance of giving back while learning about themselves and others. Students partner with local communities and immerse themselves in cultures by building relationships with the people they serve. Lasallian Immersion & Volunteer Experience strives to improve the quality of life within the global community by acting on the natural human instinct to help each other.
LIVE Programs
Our LIVE (Lasallian Immersion and Volunteer Experience) community service programs allow students to gain invaluable insights into the lifestyles and social justice issues that impact individuals and communities. Through dedicated contributions with partner organizations both in the United States and abroad, Explorers come away from their transformative experience with a new perspective. Here you’ll find more information about some of our programs, where they are located, and contact information.
Stateside
What: La Salle University will partner with the Center for Environmental Transformation, located in Camden, NJ, for a seven-day immersion trip, taking upwards of 12 students. The goal of the program is to give students a better understanding of the economic and societal challenges that Camden faces as one of the poorest cities in the United States, while performing meaningful service. During the week, students will also have the opportunity to work with various nonprofits in the community. The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) is an environmental retreat center with an urban farm located in Camden that engages and educates people of all backgrounds to practice a more environmentally responsible way of living on the planet.
Where: Camden, NJ
Contact: camden@lasalle.edu
What: A small group of students will travel to Browning, MT to volunteer at the De La Salle Blackfeet School located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Two La Salle volunteers are assigned to each classroom from 4th grade to 8th grade. These students assist the teacher with any needs that arise, from teaching a class to tutoring students in a one-on-one setting. This week-long service trip focuses on the importance of a strong educational foundation for the students living on the reservation.
Where: Browning, MT
Contact: blackfeetmontana@lasalle.edu
What: LIVE offers three Habitat for Humanity Programs. One during Spring Break traveling to North Carolina. The remaining two are usually offered in May traveling to Ohio and Georgia. Each program partners with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates through the Collegiate Challenge program. Each trip participant will work on home rehabilitation and construction projects for families in need. Habitat for Humanity seeks to eliminate homelessness in today’s society.
Where: Forsyth County, NC (Spring Break); Tucker, GA (Summer 1); Athens, OH (Summer 2)
Contact: habitatforhumanity@lasalle.edu
What: During Spring Break and in May, 25 students travel to Harlan County, Kentucky every spring and work with low-income families to provide home renovation and repair. Its mission is to have participants return with an awareness of the poverty that exists in America.
Students gain an enhanced understanding of the culture and the underlying causes of the economic hardship that this particular area of the Appalachian region faces. They also have the opportunity to develop lasting relationships with their fellow Lasallians and the people of Harlan County.
Where: Harlan, KY
Contact: live@lasalle.edu
What: El Otro Lado (EOL) is a Lasallian border immersion experience which will travel to the U.S./Mexico border. EOL participants will explore the many issues related to border realities such as: immigration, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, youth at risk, and the complex cultural dichotomy of the U.S. and Mexico borderland. Representatives from various organizations from both sides of the border, such as Border Patrol and grassroots organizations, will be hosting different sessions throughout the week to give participants an overall picture of the borderland. Participants will explore and conduct service work throughout their time with EOL while learning about the many issues related to the border realities.
Where: U.S./Mexico Border
Contact: live@lasalle.edu
What: Students in this program will be spending a week in Louisiana learning and doing some direct service related to the environment. We will be working with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to drive bold, science-based action to rebuild Coastal Louisiana. We will be working hard, getting dirty, and having a blast restoring some beautiful parts of coastal Louisiana. Specifically, we will be planting marsh grass at impacted sites throughout Louisiana’s coastal zone. This creates a dense root system to anchor the soil and build land, and also provides fish and wildlife a habitat. We will be doing this project for 2-3 days, and then we will head to New Orleans to do some environmental work there.
Where: Freshwater Bayou/Vermillion Bay
Contact: live@lasalle.edu
Abroad
What: During Winter Break, a group of seven students partner with the Saint John Baptist De La Salle School in the Cazeau section of Port Au Prince, Haiti. The Saint John Baptist De La Salle School is a primary school for pre-K through fifth grade. Students will have the opportunity to teach classes and assist in classroom activities. Students would also conduct mentoring programs for the children. Students may additionally teach ESL (English as a Second Language) classes after school hours. Knowledge of the Spanish, French, and/or Creole language is not a requirement for this trip, but is a desirable advantage in the selection process.
Where: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Contact: haiti@lasalle.edu
What: In late May, ten students will embark on a three-week immersion trip to Nyeri, Kenya. Here, students will partner with St. Mary’s Boys Secondary School, a fellow Lasallian institution. Volunteers will mainly work with the Juniors Program where Kenyan students range from age four to eighteen. Students will have the opportunity to teach classes as well as provide tutoring on an individual basis. They will perform development work for the program such as to improve upon St. Mary’s administrative processes as well as general school conditions.
Where: Nyeri, Kenya
Contact: projectmapendo@lasalle.edu
What:La Salle University will be partnering with TORCH Missions to send twelve students to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, during Spring Break for an eight-day immersion program. Students will be involved in various service opportunities, including the construction of houses, working at day care centers and children’s hospitals, and distributing food. Through these service opportunities, it is our hope that students will come to a better understanding of what social injustices the people of Honduras face on a daily basis.
Where: Honduras
Contact: torch@lasalle.edu