International students volunteer during fall break
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue international students will be helping a community outside of the university during fall break.
Boiler Out!, an international student volunteer program organized in 2009, is sending six international students to Bloomsburg, Pa., to assist with clean-up efforts from recent flooding. Maureen Doyle, immigration counselor and program co-coordinator, and Christine Collins, associate director of the international students and scholars office, will be leading the Oct. 8-11 trip.
"Bloomsburg is my hometown," Doyle said. "This is the worst flood in the area in over a hundred years, and I felt helpless when I heard the news of all the destruction. I wanted to figure out a way to help. While working out the details, I asked students if this would be something they would be interested in, and I received a really good response."
This fall, Boiler Out! consists of 165 volunteers who typically contribute a total of 1,000 hours of community service throughout the semester. To be involved, students apply for the program and are selected based on past volunteer involvement, general interest and schedule availability. Participants also take part in orientation sessions to get to know each other and the program's expectations.
Other volunteer activities undertaken by the group include Columbian Park Zoo's Halloween event Boo at the Zoo, ushering at Lafayette Symphony Orchestra events, assisting and organizing food collections at Food Finders Food Bank, and sorting donated goods at Trinity Mission.
For more information on Boiler Out! visit https://www.iss.purdue.edu/Events/BoilerOut.cfm
Purdue is home to one of the largest international student populations at a public university, with 7,934 students from 125 countries. The Office of International Students and Scholars is housed in International Programs.
Writer: Rebekah Piotrowicz, 765-496-3006, rpiotrow@purdue.edu
Sources: Sara Randrianasolo, 765-494-5770, srandria@purdue.edu
Maureen Doyle, 765-494-5770, mdoyle@purdue.edu