Second Annual Lafapalooza Will Feature Service Projects in Easton, Phillipsburg Today and Tomorrow

Students, alumni, staff, and faculty will join hands in serving the community today and tomorrow during Lafapalooza 2004: Experience Volunteering.

Ten service projects will take place in Easton and Phillipsburg today and 11 Saturday. All participants will receive a free T-shirt; specific groups participating include the women’s volleyball and basketball teams, several Greek organizations, and Student Government. The second annual program is organized by the Landis Community Outreach Center, with Christine Bender ’04 (Gibsonia, Pa.), who is seeking a B.A. in economics & business and B.S. in neuroscience, and government and law major Deanna Stoddard ’05 (Kingsley, Pa.) serving as co-chairs. To become involved or learn more, call x5553.

“We recognize that all of us have busy schedules and cannot always volunteer on a consistent basis, so we created Lafapalooza as an opportunity for people to help make a difference in the surrounding area in just one day, while forming bonds with other volunteers,” explain the co-chairs. “We hope to make this an annual event for years to come…[This] should not be difficult as long as we have the support of the Lafayette College community.”

Through last year’s Lafapalooza, 150 volunteers contributed 535 hours of service.

Projects noon-4 p.m. today will include:

• Cheston Elementary School — painting, outdoor work;
• Paxinosa Elementary School — helping prepare for a summer reading course and with parent-teacher conference arrangements;
• Meals-On-Wheels (Nazareth Pike) — painting and plastering walls;
• Trinity Episcopal Church (Spring Garden Street) – painting;
• Firth Youth Center – painting;
• Newman House – repairs;
• 3rd Street Alliance — socializing with members of adult day care program.

Projects 9 a.m.-noon Saturday will include:

• Habitat for Humanity in Allentown and Phillipsburg;
• College Hill Presbyterian Church — outdoor work;
• Trinity Episcopal Church – painting;
• Equilibrium (equine program for handicapped);
• YMCA – outdoor work.

Projects noon-3:30 p.m. Saturday will include:

• Center Square — passing out materials with Easton’s AIDS Service Center outreach workers;
• Habitat for Humanity in Allentown and Phillipsburg;
• Delaware Terrace and Jefferson public housing – playing kickball and cleaning up garbage with children;
• Trinity Episcopal Church.

Sponsors for Lafapalooza are Wegmans, Giant, Easton Baking, Dunkin’ Donuts, Campus Pizza, Salvatore’s Pizza, Nicolisi’s Pizza, Wing Zone, Cantazeretti’s Pizza, Morici’s, and Pizza D’oro; Student Government, Panhellenic Council, and Interfraternity Council; Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Phi, Tri-Delta, and Alpha Gamma Delta sororities; Lafayette Association of Free Trade Advocates, Society for Neuroscience, Kirby Government and Law Society, Newman Association, and Residence Hall Council; and Herman Kissiah Student Life Fund, Office of Residence Life, and Landis Community Outreach Center.

Overall, more than 900 Lafayette students gave a total of 34,780 community service hours in 2002-03.