Spring Break Means Service for Volunteer Group

A number of Saint Francis students are spending their spring break providing medical and social services to disadvantaged residents of Jamaica.

The Helping the Underprivileged by Giving our Service (HUGS) group, which consists of 24 students and three faculty members, is providing medical care for the residents of the Maggotty area of Jamaica. HUGS members will also volunteer in local schools, provide physical and occupational therapy, and administer a micro-lending program.

The trip, scheduled for Feb. 27 through March 5, is the second consecutive one to Jamaica for the program and the second for HUGS president David Budash.

“I look forward to interacting with the children in the Maggotty community and helping them learn,” said Budash. “Having any positive impact on their lives is one of the most rewarding parts of the trip.”

The group was able to secure five suitcases of donations from the SFU community, including medicines and essentials such as toothpaste.

Additional donations from Richland Elementary School in Johnstown and the University’s physician assistant program will allow HUGS to travel with technological supplies, such as a Wi-Fi router and printer ink.

Interfaith Campus Minister Lisa Georgiana is one of the faculty members traveling with HUGS.

“I love watching our students interact with the Jamaicans whom they are serving,” said Georgiana.

While Georgiana is invested in the residents of the Maggotty region, she feels the impact that these mission trips have on the volunteers is also important.

“I thought I was going to help others, and I did,” said Georgiana, recalling her first HUGS trip. “But I was the one who was transformed.”