7
Siena volunteers share
hearts and muscles in
Chicago and Jamaica
Two groups of volunteers took the Siena
Heights spirit of service to vastly
different locations this spring, sharing
minds, hearts and elbow grease with
communities in need.
Spring break 98 found eight Siena
Heights students in Chicago, Illinois,
staying at the Presentation Catholic
Church on the citys west side and
spending most of their time volunteering
for The Childrens Place, a social
service agency offering aid to families
struggling with the complex issues
brought on by HIV infection and AIDS.
The group, organized by Jennifer Bine
00, president of SAVE (Siena Against
Violent Environments), also helped
drywall a house for Habitat for
Humanity, in between assignments at
The Childrens Place. The trip was
intense, emotional and highly fulfilling,
the student volunteers reported. The
group also had the opportunity to meet
with Siena Heights alumna and SAVE
founder Aimee Nemeckay 89/91 M.A.,
now a hospital administrator in Chicago,
and Siena Heights Trustee J. Patrick
Murphy, CM, who hosted the group at
his Chicago home (see photo above).
SAVE will most likely head to
Appalachia for 1999s alternative
spring break, returning to the site of
last yea