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Memoir by Rwandan genocide survivor is 'All Bonaventure Reads' selection for 2008

After five months and dozens of books considered, the All Bonaventure Reads ’08 committee is pleased to announce its selection for incoming freshmen: “Left to Tell” by Immaculée Ilibagiza.

Ilibagiza’s memoir is about her survival of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a three-month holocaust that engulfed and transformed this 22-year-old Tutsi woman while home from college for the Easter holiday.

She, along with seven other women, hid for 90 days in her pastor’s cramped bathroom from the killers who were ravaging her country. More than a million ethnic Tutsis, including many family members and friends, were killed. Ilibagiza eventually came to forgive these murderers and went on to help Rwandan female entrepreneurs rebuild their communities and lives.

“We selected ‘hope’ as the theme for ABR ’08 then searched to find a book that would embrace hope as well as honor St. Bonaventure University’s 150th Anniversary celebration,” said committee chair Jean Trevarton Ehman, director of the Teaching and Learning Center.

The committee, which began in 2006, consists of Ehman; Christopher Brown, residence director of Shay/Loughlen halls and assistant director of the First-Year Experience program; Dr. Nancy Casey, professor of elementary education and director of the First-Year Experience program; Dr. Lauren De La Vars, chair of the Department of English; Dr. Will Elenchin, professor of sociology; Dr. Carol Fischer, professor of accounting; Nichole Gonzalez, director of Residence Life; Heather Jackson, registrar; Adriane Spencer, coordinator of Disability Support Services; Mike Williams, director of the Journey Project; and Brianne Rehac, a sophomore journalism/mass communication major.

The committee hopes that Ilibagiza, who now lives in New York City, will address the class of 2012 during the fall semester.

BonaResponds hosting Buffalo Service Day

If you’ve always wanted to volunteer with BonaResponds but never had the opportunity, here’s your chance.

On Saturday, March 29, BonaResponds will host its first Buffalo Service Day, an extension of its local service days that have been held semiannually in Olean and Allegany. The event is open to the public.

A volunteer meeting to kick off the day will start at 9:30 a.m. at The Valley Community Association Center at 93 Leddy St.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will work at several sites around the city. Participating organizations include: the City of Buffalo Common Council, The Bob Lanier Center, The Belle Center, PUSH Buffalo, Buffalo Re-Use, Compass House and The Morlock Foundation. Volunteer jobs will include, but are not limited to, painting buildings, conducting housing assessments, renovating buildings, as well as boarding up two condemned buildings.

Volunteers are not required to stay for the whole day.
At 4 p.m., volunteers are invited to enjoy free dinner and music until 6 p.m. at The Valley Community Association Center. This is an alcohol-free event.

Sponsors of BonaResponds Buffalo Day include The Valley Community Association, First Niagara Financial Group, The Larkin at Exchange Building and City View Properties. Sponsors also include David Franczyk, Common Council president and Fillmore District councilman; Michael "Mickey" Kearns, South District councilman; and Richard Fontana, Lovejoy District councilman. BonaResponds worked with the University’s Buffalo Alumni Chapter to coordinate the event.

BonaResponds was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It has taken approximately 500 volunteers to the Gulf Coast and led just as many volunteers in service projects throughout Western New York. BonaResponds aims to be a world-class organization whose mission is to help people in need, as well as to build better leaders and better communities. The group, comprised of students, faculty, staff, alumni and local residents, is run completely through donations.

Those who would like to donate to BonaResponds should send checks to BonaResponds, Attn: Jim Mahar, School of Business, Box BY, St. Bonaventure, NY 14778. All donations are tax deductible.

BonaResponds welcomes new members, regardless of affiliation with St. Bonaventure. For more information regarding BonaResponds or Buffalo Day, visit www.bonaresponds.org or contact BonaResponds at bonaresponds@sbu.edu.

As part of its 150th anniversary celebration, St. Bonaventure University will honor three Rochester community leaders with Gaudete Medals at the annual awards dinner April 10 in Rochester.

Honorees for 2008 include Arunas A. Chesonis, chief executive officer of PAETEC Holding Corp.; the Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark, Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester; and James G. Gould, president of Alesco Advisors, LLC, and a member of SBU’s class of 1980.

“We are so proud to honor all of these remarkable people with our Gaudete Medal,” said Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D., University president. “They are shining examples of joyful service, making visible and sustained contributions that change the lives of others around them.”

St. Bonaventure’s Gaudete (gow-DAY-tay) Medals honor business and community leaders who exemplify the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi through their joy, hope, positive outlook on life, sincerely compassionate spirit and desire to serve humankind. Recipients of the Gaudete, which means “Rejoice!” in Latin, have inspired, encouraged and enlightened others through their personal and professional lives.

The awards dinner is Thursday, April 10, at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Co-chairs of the event are Ronald Salluzzo, SBU class of 1972, and his wife, Sharon; and Robert King, class of 1980.

Individual tickets are $150, but corporate tables of varying sponsorship levels are also available. Proceeds will be allocated to the University’s scholarship fund.

To be a part of the celebration, contact Anne Goergen at St. Bonaventure, (716) 375-4085 or agoergen@sbu.edu.

Arunas Chesonis is responsible for the vision, leadership and direction of the company. Under the watch of Chesonis, PAETEC has achieved remarkable growth.

Within five years of founding PAETEC in May 1998, Chesonis led the company to achieve the No. 2 ranking in the 2003 Deloitte Fast 500 list of the fastest-growing public and private technology companies in North America. In 2001, he was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2006, Chesonis received the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by the College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology.

This growth has not come at the expense of doing business the right way. PAETEC received the national 2005 American Business Ethics Award sponsored by the Society for Financial Service Professionals.

Chesonis began his career at Rochester Telephone Corporation, now part of Citizens Communications Company. He went on to serve as president of ACC Corp., until it was purchased by TCG/ATT in 1998.

Chesonis holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester, and an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Rochester.

He is chairman of the director’s Council for the Earth System Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and serves as trustee at the Harley School, Rochester Institute of Technology and the

University of Rochester.

Pope John Paul II ordained the Most Rev. Matthew Clark a bishop on May 27, 1979, at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. He was installed as the eighth Bishop of Rochester on June 26, 1979.

Bishop Clark grew up near Albany and did his early education in that area before attending Mater Christi Seminary in Albany, St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester and the North American College in Rome. He was ordained a priest for the Albany diocese on Dec. 19, 1962. He served in various positions in the Albany diocese, including as vice chancellor, prior to serving as assistant spiritual director (1972-1974) and spiritual director (1974-1979) at the North American College in Rome.

Bishop Clark holds a licentiate in theology and a licentiate in canon law from the Gregorian University in Rome. He has served on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Women in Society and in the Church, the Committee on Vocations, the Administrative Committee, as the Episcopal Liaison to the National Federation for Youth Ministry and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American College, Louvain.

Jim Gould founded Alesco Advisors, an investment advisory firm, in 2000. Before that he was president of Clover Capital Management Inc. He has also held positions at Xerox Corp., KPMG Peat Marwick, and IBM. He is a certified public accountant.

Gould serves on several boards in the Rochester area. He is board chair of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester and is a board member of the Pluta Cancer Center. He is a member of the Investment Committee of the United Way of Greater Rochester, a member of the Pension Committee of the Diocese of Rochester, as well as a member of his parish’s Finance Council.

Gould has served on numerous other boards including St. Ann’s of Greater Rochester, as chair of the St. Ann’s Foundation; The Al Sigl Center Partners’ Foundation; and the Catholic Family Center. He is also a board member at Anaren Inc., a public company headquartered in Syracuse, where he serves on the Audit Committee and as chair of the Compensation and Investment committees.

Gould has been active with St. Bonaventure University. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1998 until 2007 and was chair of the board’s committees on Athletics, Trusteeship and Marketing. He was also a member of the Investment and the Enrollment committees. Gould is also a past Rochester Alumni Association president and has worked as an Annual Fund volunteer.

Gould lives in Pittsford with his wife, Ann, who is also a 1980 St. Bonaventure graduate, and their four daughters, two of whom are students at St. Bonaventure.

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IThe St. Bonaventure University Seneca Battalion inducted four new members into its Army ROTC Hall of Fame during a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 15, in Rigas Family Theater on campus.

The Hall of Fame honors distinguished graduates and individuals of the St. Bonaventure community who have served their country with the utmost duty and valor. This year’s distinguished inductees are:

Lt. Col. James M. DiRisio (Ret.), ’86
James M. DiRisio was raised in Fairport, N.Y., and graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. He was commissioned a Chemical Corps second lieutenant through the ROTC program in 1986. After completion of the Chemical Officer Basic Course he was assistant S3/chemical officer, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and later executive officer of the 101st Chemical Company, 1st Corps Support Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. In June of 1990, he left active duty and joined the 401st Civil Affairs Company, an Army Reserve unit in Webster, N.Y. Mobilized in January 1991, he deployed with the 401st to Southwest Asia, where he became the Assistant S5, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

Upon returning to the United States, he graduated from the Civil Affairs Officer Advanced Course and remained in the reorganized 401st Civil Affairs Battalion from 1991 until 1996, serving as the Arts and Monuments Officer and as a Direct Support Team Chief. He was mobilized again in June 1996 and deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he became the S5 of 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry in Task Force Eagle during Operation Joint Endeavor. In December 1996, he returned to the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion as the unit’s S4/Logistics Officer and in 1999 was selected to command the battalion’s General Support Detachment. He was assigned in February 2002 to the staff of the 98th Division (Institutional Training) in Rochester, where he held several positions in the 98th Division’s G3 Section.

He was mobilized in September 2004 for the third time to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and was selected as executive officer to the Commanding General of the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team in Baghdad, Iraq. DiRisio served with the team throughout Iraq for one year until he returned to the 98th Division in October 2005. Selected as a Command and General Staff College instructor, he taught intermediate level education as a staff leader in the 6th Brigade (Professional Development), 98th Division (IT) at Fort Dix, N.J., and the United States Military Academy until he retired as a lieutenant colonel in February 2007.

DiRisio has been a higher education administrator since 1991 and is the director of Admissions at St. Bonaventure. He has remained close to the Seneca Battalion and in 1997 assisted in the establishment of the Army ROTC Affinity Group and the ROTC Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Mary, have two children and live in Olean.

DiRisio is a graduate of several military schools, including the Combined Arms Staff Services School, USAF Middle Eastern Orientation Course, Command and General Staff College and the Command and General Staff College Faculty Development Program. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Service Star, Southwest Asia Service Medal with Service Star, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Service Medal (Hourglass, Mobilization Device, Numeral Three), NATO Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge and numerous unit citations. His foreign decorations and badges include the Saudi Arabia Liberation of Kuwait Medal, Kuwait Liberation of Kuwait Medal and Republic of Honduras Parachutist Badge.

Col. David W. Hazen (Ret.), ’63
Born in Port Jervis, N.Y., David W. Hazen enrolled at St. Bonaventure in 1958 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1963. A Distinguished Military Graduate of the Army ROTC program, he was commissioned a Field Artillery second lieutenant and graduated with distinction from the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course.

His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 28th Field Artillery (8th Infantry Division) in Germany, where he served as a platoon leader, assistant S3, S3 and battery commander from July 1963 until August 1966. He reported to An Khe, Vietnam, in September 1966 and served as assistant S3 in HHB, 3rd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery for four months before being assigned as assistant S3, HHB, 1st Field Force Artillery in Natrang, Vietnam, for the remainder of his one-year tour. He returned to the United States and served as a project officer and later chief of the Cannon Branch, Gunnery Department, U.S. Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Okla., from August 1968 until May 1970.

During Hazen’s second tour of duty in Vietnam, from May 1970 to May 1971, he served as chief of Intelligence Analysis, G2, XXIV Corps in Da Nang, Vietnam. He became chief of the Systems Operations Branch and project manager at Fort Hood, Texas, in June 1971 and in July 1973 was assigned as executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. In 1975, he became chief of Force Development and assistant G3 of the 101st Airborne Division. Hazen returned to overseas duty in August 1978 when he was assigned as the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery and Camp Pelham, Korea, for one year.

He was selected as an instructor and assistant professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., and taught there for two years before being named chief of the Long Range Planning Division, Direct Support Operations, Department of the Army. He remained in the Pentagon as the assistant for C2 Policy & Plans, U.S. Army Element, Office of the Secretary of Defense until June 1986. He returned to military instruction as the director of U.S. National Security Studies at the Department of National Security and Strategy of the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. Concurrently, he held the honorary General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security Studies. His final military assignment was chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the War College. He retired as a colonel in 1993.

Hazen married Bernice Gilpin and together they raised four children. Following his retirement, he was elected to the Matamoras (Pa.) Borough Council and served as council president. His civilian and military education includes a master of military arts degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina, along with completion of a post-master’s Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. In addition to being the honorary colonel of the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, his military awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2nd Award), Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal (4th Award), Army Commendation Medal (2nd Award), National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Vietnam Service Medal with Five Battle Stars, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd Award), Vietnam Commendation Medal, and Office of the Secretary of Defense and Army Staff Identification Badges.

Col. Thomas G.B. Kane (Ret.), ’80
Thomas George Bonaventure Kane was born in Corning and followed the example of his father, Daniel C. Kane, ’54, by enrolling in St. Bonaventure’s Army ROTC program. He received an ROTC Scholarship, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science and was commissioned as a military police second lieutenant in 1980. With an educational delay, he remained an Army Reserve officer while attending the Claude Pettit School of Law, Ohio Northern University, from which he was awarded his juris doctor in 1983. In January 1984, he began basic studies in military law at the University of Virginia and later that year completed the Judge Advocate General’s Basic Course at Fort Lee, Va.

His first assignment as a JAG officer was with the Trial Defense Service, Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as defense counsel for the 2nd Armored Division. He was promoted to captain and named trial counsel, legal assistance officer, administrative law officer and international law officer for the 2nd Armored Division. In 1987, he was transferred to Carlisle Barracks to serve as the assistant post judge advocate, and was advanced to post judge advocate from 1989 until 1992, during which time his office twice won the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Award for Excellence in Legal Assistance and was recognized by the Training and Doctrine Command Communities of Excellence. He served as legal assistance attorney for Gen. Omar Bradley and his wife, Kitty, and was instrumental in the settlement of the Bradley estate. His command prepared several thousand service members for deployment during Operations Desert Shield and Storm, helping to make the post a key preparation site for future deployments, especially for key senior officers leaving for the Army War College for service in these war zones.

Kane left Carlisle in October of 1992 to take an Active Guard Reserve position with the Pennsylvania National Guard as Pennsylvania’s full-time judge advocate general. He was promoted to major in 1993 and completed the Judge Advocate Advanced Course that same year. He completed Command and General Staff College in 1997 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1998. During this time, he drafted several key pieces of legislation, including a State AWOL law, an Interstate Compact for Mutual Assistance between the States, a Timbering Law for Fort Indiantown Gap and several provisions of a State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. A culminating experience came in a deployment to Lithuania as a military law and disaster assistance expert with the Partnership for Peace Program. There, Kane addressed government and military officials and served as a legal point of contact, which led to his assistance in the drafting of the Lithuanian constitution and several other laws and policies relating to the establishment of their armed forces and disaster assistance processes.

Selected for promotion to colonel in 2002, he graduated from the Air War College and on Feb. 1, 2004, retired from the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel. He continues to serve as a GS-14 civilian attorney for the United States Army, with duty as the installation legal officer for the U.S. Army War College and Carlisle Barracks. Married to Yvonne Lee Kane, he is the father of six children and his extensive community service includes leadership positions with the National Youth League, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Knights of Columbus, Boy Scouts of America and St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Parish.

His military awards include five Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal (second award), two Pennsylvania Meritorious Service Medals, two Pennsylvania Commendation Medals and several lesser federal and state medals and service ribbons.

Col. Lois (Rappl) Morales (Ret.), ’82
Lois M. (Rappl) Morales was born in Rochester, graduating from Bishop Kearney High School before attending Monroe Community College. She transferred to St. Bonaventure as a junior, and like her father, Norbert J. Rappl, ’52, enrolled in Army ROTC. She was graduated from St. Bonaventure with a bachelor’s degree in economics and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Ordnance branch.

She completed the Ordnance Officer Basic Course at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and was graduated from the U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. In March 1983, she reported to Kaiserslautern, Germany, where she served as a staff supply officer and protocol officer during the first part of her tour, then became a platoon leader and later executive officer of the 903rd Maintenance Company. During her final year in Germany, she was the maintenance management officer of the 87th Maintenance Battalion, having been promoted to first lieutenant and captain while on active duty.

Morales left active duty in June 1987 and became a U.S. Army Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) Material Officer for the Army Logistics Center, Fort Lee, Va. In 1992, she became the S1 of the 320th Military Police Battalion in Ashley, Pa. A brief reassignment to the Control Group followed and in February 1995, she began her long-term association with the 75th Division (Exercise). Her first assignment with the 75th Division was as the senior simulation coach in the division’s 1st Brigade, Houston, Texas. Promoted to major in October 1997, she was assigned as secretary to the General Staff and, in May 1999, was selected as the Chemical Team Chief, 4th Brigade, 75th Division in Houston. In September 2000, she became commandant of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Division, serving in that capacity until August 2002. She was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 2002 and was selected to command 1st Battalion (Logistics Support), 382nd Regiment, 75th Division at Fort Sill, Okla.

She was the first woman to command a battalion in the 60-year history of the 75th Division and mobilized with it from January to November 2003, when she was responsible for the training of soldiers deploying from CONUS for the Global War on Terror. Following her highly successful battalion command, Morales became the deputy G4 of the 75th Division till 2007. Following her promotion to colonel, Morales is presently a Simulation Team Chief in 1st Battle Command Training Brigade. She and her husband, Col. James Morales, live in Dallas with their three sons, Dustin, Kyle, and Karl.

In addition to the Ordnance Officer Basic and Basic Airborne Courses, Morales is a graduate of the NBC School, the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Services Staff School and Command and General Staff College. She is also member of the Army War College Class of 2008 and due to graduate in July. Her awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), National Defense Service Medal (1 Bronze Service Star), Global War on Terror Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with Bronze Hourglass and M Device), Silver Hour Glass, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, and German Proficiency Badge.

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Detailed information on upcoming Career Center events such as SBU’s on-campus career fair, Career Fest ’08, advanced registration for Career Fest ’08, and A10 Spring eCareer Fair is available at the Career Center’s Events’ page.

New 'Imaging Journals' display opens in Friedsam Library

A new exhibition of Imaging Journals is on display in the glass cases of Friedsam Memorial Library on the campus of St. Bonaventure University through March 30.

The Imaging journals were created in the visual arts course “Imaging Journal: Creative Renewal and the Inward Journey” and also in the Clare 109: Arts and Literature course, both taught by Constance Pierce, associate professor in visual and performing arts. Students from a variety of majors were engaged in creating the Imaging Journals.

The student artists featured in this display are Amanda Long (visual arts), Byron Morgan (journalism/mass communication), Kristen Marsicovetere (English), Eileen Gorczynski (psychology), Katherine Danahy (visual arts), Brianne Rehac (journalism/mass communication), Kaitlin Root (psychology), Carrie Burgess (biology), Brianna Kresa (Spanish) and Grace Lewandowski (computer science).

Aspects of both journal writing and image making are joined together in potent combination in the process of creating an Imaging Journal, Pierce says. Part soul retrieval, part personal narrative, the intimacy of the sketchbook format allows images to surface from memory and imagination. Guided explorations in monotype, watercolor, collage and expressively designed text prompt and companion the journal writing. The Imaging Journal reveals the artist’s interior life and its healing connection to the sacred whole.

Pierce has pioneered and taught her Imaging Journal courses at numerous institutions, including Yale Divinity School, Cleveland Institute of Art’s Summer Program, Smithsonian Institution’s Campus on the Mall, and the graduate Art Therapy Program of Ursuline (Ohio) College. Her own sketchbook journals were recently exhibited at The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Imaging Journal display will be on view through March 30 during the library’s regular hours. For information on the journals, e-mail Pierce at cpierce@sbu.edu. For hours and information about Friedsam Memorial Library, call the front desk at (716) 375-2347.

Five students and a professor from St. Bonaventure University will take a service trip to Bethlehem, Uganda, in May.

The students — senior Matthew Keenan of Rochester, junior Zachary Rodriguez of Syracuse, juniors Erin Danahy and Lindsay Pohlman of Buffalo, and senior Rachel Siepierski of Buffalo — will travel with journalism and mass communication professor Pauline Hoffmann.

Through the school’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization and the nonprofit Both Your Hands, the student group will be promoting long-term economic sustainability through education and a micro-loan program.

The group will be working at the Bethlehem Parents School. Of the 350 students there, about 250 of them are orphaned and about 150 live at the school. The Bonaventure group will be teaching students about individual talents and financial responsibility.

A micro-loan project will be established so that local adults can start small businesses. The group will start peer workshops so that those who take out the micro-loans will have others with whom to discuss their progress.

SIFE is assisting with the project. The St. Bonaventure chapter has taken yearly educational and entrepreneurial service trips to the Bahamas and the Gulf Coast.

Both Your Hands is a nonprofit organization designed to connect caring communities with poor villages to create self-sufficiency and pride in achievement. The organization was founded in 2001 by Deborah Naybor, a small business owner from upstate New York.