Lauren Fitzgerald, of Somerville, Spends Winter Break Volunteering in Camden on an Assumption College SEND Trip

2017 Jan 30

The Assumption College Office of Campus Ministry has announced that Lauren Fitzgerald, of Somerville, spent the winter break on one of the College's SEND Service Immersion Trips. Fitzgerald traveled to Camden. In Camden, NJ, students visited the Romero Center and participated in the Urban Challenge Program, which is an urban, service learning, immersion experience rooted in the Catholic tradition. During the trip, students spent time with the people of Camden, exposing them to the challenges and hope of daily life in the city of Camden. .

As part of the College's Campus Ministry Office's SEND Service Immersion Program, established in 1986, the students-accompanied by faculty, staff and alumni-have the opportunity to directly impact communities through volunteer work. SEND participants bond with fellow peers, faculty, staff, and alumni while working side-by-side to rebuild neighborhoods, gain new cultural perspective, and engage in prayer activities that reflect on ideals rooted in the Assumptionist tradition. SEND has partnered with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Romero Center Ministries, Catholic Charities, and Rostro de Cristo Ministry.

This January, students traveled to Baltimore, MD; Camden, NJ; Tuscaloosa, AL; and Guayaquil, Ecuador. During spring break 2017, students will head to Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Immokalee, FL; Norristown, PA; Trenton, NJ; and Georgetown, DE.

"Our hope for the students participating in SEND is that they begin to view service as an opportunity to build relationships with others in ways that recognize our shared human dignity and call us to a life of faith in action," said Vincent Sullivan-Jacques, assistant director of Campus Ministry and director of volunteer outreach and community engagement.

The SEND Immersion Program instills in each participant a mission to serve, which is at the core of Assumption's foundations in the Catholic Tradition. For more about Campus Ministry, visit http://www.assumption.edu/campus-life/campus-ministry.