Jacqueline Rossignol Serves Urban Poverty

MANCHESTER, NH (02/21/2012)(readMedia)-- Jacqueline Rossignol, a senior nursing major at Saint Anselm College, spent her winter break in Camden, New Jersey volunteering at various soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters in the area.

Rossignol led a group of 12 students from Saint Anselm who volunteered with Romero Center Ministries, an organization that educates people about the reality of urban poverty in America.

Rossignol explained one activity where the group lived off of food stamps for a day. "It was amazing to actually walk into a grocery store and have such a low budget. I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to wake up and do that everyday."

Rossignol and her group are a part of Saint Anselm College's Service & Solidarity Missions program. The program consists of student-led service trips overseen by Campus Ministry during winter, spring, and summer breaks. Now in its 22nd year, Service and Solidarity Missions will send 216 students on 16 trips in 10 states, and to Washington, D.C., Costa Rica, and Honduras throughout the year.

Rossignol, who has now participated in three of the student-led service trips, calls herself "lucky" to have been selected to lead a trip. "You end up learning so much from the rest of the participants because you are in-tune with the entire group."