The Collegian

Issue date: 9/26/06 Section: Feature

Last year a group of students traveled to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina relief.

The holiday season is still a good two to three months off from now, and while it is a little too early to start hanging up stockings by the fireplace, it is the perfect time to accumulate some of those karma points that will come in handy when Santa makes his "Good List" this year.

There are a number of organizations on campus that offers Saint Mary's College students the opportunity to get involved in a variety of enriching, useful and practical experiences which serve the school and community. From the Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action (CILSA) to the five service clubs on campus, there are a multitude of opportunities to start giving back to the community in the spirit of the Lasallian tradition, which calls for the responsibility for all capable members of the community to share their service with those who are in need.

Located on the first floor of Ferroggiaro Hall, the CILSA office is hard to miss as most students pass by it on a daily basis on their way to class. The purpose of CILSA is "to promote, organize, and support service on behalf of social justice by members of the Saint Mary's community."

Debbie Ng, community partnerships coordinator, said that CILSA is a resource for students, staff, and faculty interested in doing service. CILSA offers an array of projects for interested individuals and groups.

One of the organizations that CILSA is involved with is Alameda Point Collaborative (APC). Located in Alameda Point, this program focuses on women and families recovering from domestic violence, adults and children with disabilities, persons living with AIDS and formerly homeless veterans and their families.

APC requires volunteers who are willing to help out with special events and projects. On a recent APC project during the Week of Welcome, 65 Saint Mary's students helped prepare ground for planting, shovel dirt, and plant in a "Community Garden Co-op" program.

Another program offered by CILSA is called Jumpstart, which recruits, trains, supervises, and supports college students to work with early childhood programs such as Head Start. This program requires students who are willing to commit up to one year to provide early childhood literacy tutoring to pre-schoolers in Head Start programs located in Oakland.

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