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Members of an Alternative School Break team that served AIDS victims in Washington, D.C., over the interim session will share their experiences in a brown bag presentation noon Friday in Interfaith Chapel, Hogg Hall. Lunch may be brought or purchased for $3.
Nine students and two staff members worked from Jan. 4-12 with Food & Friends, Inc., preparing and delivering meals to HIV/AIDS-infected individuals, and The Pediatric AIDS Center, where they worked with children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS, organizing evening programs for them.
The group watched the movie Philadelphia to help prepare for the trip. Once on site, Food & Friends provided a detailed orientation session about its mission, as well as issues often addressed in the group’s work.
Students raised the money for the trip through various fundraisers, including a pancake breakfast and holiday candy-grams sales. They will continue to raise money for the ASB trips that will take place over spring break through the sale of Hershey’s candy.
This year was the first in which the student leaders of each team were selected before the rest of the trip participants. In addition, other students now have greater leadership opportunities. Along with its student leader, each team has at least one student taking on the following roles: cultural/educational guru, who educates team members about the culture of the area, the agency with whom they are working, and issues that surround the need they are serving; scribe, who takes minutes and records service hours and other general information; treasurer, who is responsible for keeping financial records; team builder, who develops teamwork and group dynamics; and fund raising experts.
The students who volunteered in Washington, D.C. were Alex Karapetian ’04, a government and law major from Easton, Pa., vice president of the Alternate Spring Club; Kate Cimino ’02, a government and law and foreign language major from Midland Park, N.J., team leader; Kelly Wise ’02, a psychology major from Queens, N.Y., treasurer; Catriona Duncanson ’03, an A.B. engineering major from Basking Ridge, N.J., team builder; Meghan Masto ’03, a psychology major from Wall, N.J., and Michelle DiMeglio ’04, a civil and environmental engineering major from Morton, Pa., cultural/educational gurus; Andrew Lee ’04 of Brooklyn, N.Y., an undeclared liberal arts student, and Cristin Timoney ’05, an intended psychology major from North Wales, fund raising experts; and Katie Pursel ’04, a neuroscience major from Easton, Pa. Stephanie Hayes ’94, associate director of development services, and Jodie Frey, director of recreation services, accompanied the students.
The Alternate Spring Break Club is advised by Kate Wick, intern with Lafayette’s Landis Community Outreach Center, which organizes more than 25 programs of sustained voluntary service each year, serving human needs in Easton and beyond. The students help others and learn about social problems by combating poverty; mentoring, tutoring, and educating others; and protecting the environment. Outreach programs include tutoring children, prison inmates, and those learning English as a second language; educating others about AIDS; mentoring and organizing activities for children; serving meals and working in homeless shelters; volunteering in hospitals and emergency squads; visiting nursing-home residents, and others.
In addition to Wick and Director Charlene J. Gray, the center’s staff includes 21 student community service assistants, who organize the volunteer programs, arrange all training and transportation, and handle record-keeping and accounting. Lafayette chaplain Gary Miller also works closely with the Landis Center.
For more information about the Washington, D.C. trip, contact Cimono at c2cimino@yahoo.com or cimonoc@lafayette.edu.