Sept. 30, 2003

CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854;  e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

‘JARED BOX’ SERVICE CAMPAIGN FOR ILL CHILDREN

PART OF NATIONAL HONORS CONVENTION AT SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY

           SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Student leaders from 35 colleges and universities will gather Friday [Oct. 3] at Slippery Rock University to assemble “Jared Boxes” for sick children as part of the three-day Lambda Sigma Society’s annual national convention, hosted by the university.

            The Lambda Sigma Society, an honors organization for college sophomores, is dedicated to the ideals of leadership, scholarship and service. Chapter presidents from around the nation will be in town for the convention.

Raising children’s spirits

           The Jared Box service project will send shoeboxes of toys and games to children undergoing chemotherapy or other treatments throughout the region, dropped at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Jared Box campaigns honor the memory of a 5-year-old Pennsylvania boy, Jared, who died of cancer in 2000. 

           “The Lambda in Lambda Sigma stands for leadership, and we will have 35 leaders from across the country on campus,” says SRU’s Dr. Mark Shotwell, associate professor of biology and adviser to SRU’s 34-member Lambda Sigma Society chapter. “These are students who excel in the classroom while still making time for others.”

           During the convention, students will participate in workshops and seminars “developing leadership ability and the spirit of service,” Shotwell said.

           The society is open to students in all majors. Since 1995, 227 SRU students have been members, Shotwell said. Other SRU Lambda Sigma service projects have included:

       Work on Habitat for Humanity houses

       Nursing home visitations

 Participation in Project Christmas Elf

Making Valentine’s day cards for veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Butler

Established the Professor of the Month Award