 |
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Barbara
Eng (914) 654-5285 |
URSULINE STUDENTS
FROM HIGH SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE TO PROVIDE WEEK-LONG COMMUNITY SERVICE TO
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
NEW ROCHELLE, NY, June 9, 2003 – As The College of New Rochelle (CNR)
ushers in its centennial year, it welcomes 60 female high school students
to its main campus from June 15 to 21. The participating students,
who come from four Ursuline schools in Wilmington, DE; New Rochelle, NY;
St. Louis, MO; and Dallas, TX, will be here for a week-long service project
to benefit six non-profit organizations in the tri-state area. The
trip marks the first time that the Ursuline Order’s global initiative,
Ursuline Schools Unite in Service: Our Call is Peace, Our Path is Justice,
will take place in New York City.
The students will have diverse assignments ranging from helping teachers
with students and packing food for the homeless to cleaning up playgrounds,
designing infant T-shirts for shelter residents, and clerical/computer
assignments. They will also participate in two Midnight Runs sponsored
by CNR’s Campus Ministry to deliver sandwiches and clothing to the homeless
in Manhattan.
During their project, students will be on-site every day from 9:30 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. at the following organizations:
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The Food Patch
–Yorktown Heights emergency food packaging for the homeless;
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The Hope Kitchen
– New Rochelle soup kitchen;
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The Housing Authority
– Westchester-based housing for mental health patients;
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Fred S. Keller
School – Yonkers preschool for special needs children (autism, ADD, etc.);
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Rosalie Hall –
Residential facility in the Bronx for young unwed or abused mothers;
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Song Catchers
– New Rochelle after school music program for disadvantaged children in
grades K-6; and
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Sterling Club
– White Plains mental health facility for adults.
“Thousands of
young women throughout the U.S. and across the world have been educated
with the Ursuline philosophy of I will serve,” remarked Sister Marion Lynch,
O.S.U., Director of External Relations for CNR. “Given the current
events of the past two years, it is very heartening that many young women
today want to make a difference to people in need beyond their own communities.”
The seeds of the Order’s global initiative, Ursuline Schools Unite in Service,
were planted on the morning of September 11, 2001, when Ursuline Sisters
from 40 countries were meeting in Rome, Italy, for their annual Chapter
Meeting. Ironically, the purpose of this particular meeting was to
determine a “world focus” for all Ursuline schools and programs.
As soon as the Sisters learned of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers,
they realized that all people must unite to create a better world.
That day, “Our Call is Peace, Our Path is Justice” was born.
In 1904, Mother Irene Gill of the Order of St. Ursula founded The College
of New Rochelle as the first Catholic college for women in New York State.
Mother Irene, an Irish immigrant who joined the Ursulines in 1876, was
recognized for her commitment to the education of women and her vision
of the educational innovations required to meet rapidly changing circumstances
in America. Today, the College has grown from one school with 12
students to four schools with seven campuses and more than 7,000 students.
The first Catholic college for women in New York State, The College
of New Rochelle was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order. Today, it comprises
the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, and three schools which admit
women and men: the School of New Resources (for adult learners), the School
of Nursing and the Graduate School. The main campus of the College
is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles north of New York City.
The College maintains six other campus locations in New York City. Visit
the College’s website at www.cnr.edu.
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