Time off to share and serve; HC students spend break aiding others.

Byline: Bonnie Russell

WORCESTER - College of the Holy Cross senior Christina Polachi has recently returned from spending spring break at the Thomas B. Barnett L'Arche Mobile Activity Center in Mobile, Ala., a faith-based community in which people with developmental disabilities share life together as a family with nondisabled people, an experience that she described as "awesome."

Ms. Polachi, student co-chairwoman of the Spring Break Immersion Program, is one of 309 students from Holy Cross who spent their spring break doing community service in 26 locations in 12 states.

"It was the best thing I could have imagined. My roommates and I are planning to visit another L'Arche community in Haverhill just on our own," Ms. Polachi said.

The time and effort Ms. Polachi and co-chairman Patrick Teebagy, a senior from Shrewsbury, spent planning and organizing for the spring break program this year contributed to an increase in both the number of sites and student participation, said Martin Kelly, assistant chaplain who oversees the program.

"This is the largest group in the 27-year history of the Spring Break Immersion Program," said Mr. Kelly, adding that it is also the first year that students participated in immersion experiences at L'Arche communities in six cities across the country.

"We had an invitation from L'Arche to become involved. We thought it would be a wonderful way to expand the program and still be true to our mission. Relationships are at the heart of the L'Arche experience - really listening to one another, developing mutual friendships, and coming to understand the joys and struggles of others more deeply. This, too, is what our immersion program is all about. While the volunteer service that students perform in these communities is important, it is the focus on deepening relationships, with God and others, that makes the experience transformational," Mr. Kelly said.

The invitation accepted by the chaplains' office at the college to establish a relationship between Holy Cross and L'Arche was twofold. The first part was the students' visits during spring break. In part two, Holy Cross will reciprocate the hospitality shown to their students when 10 members of L'Arche communities visit the campus April 9 to 11. The visitors will immerse themselves in the life of Holy Cross, from social activities to athletic events to attending classes.

A typical day...