Whether locally in Bridgeport or miles away in El Salvador, students are always willing to lend a hand.

For the past 15 years, volunteers of faculty, staff and students traveled to a remote and extremely impoverished village in El Salvador.

Each year during Spring Break, the volunteers travel to the providence of Usulatan, to help those less fortunate.

In the past, the students and faculty built a church, houses, schools, playgrounds, an infirmary, and a youth center, complete with a basketball court.

This year, the village of Tierra Blanca will benefit from SHU's hard work and assistance once again.

"I had the opportunity to go to El Salvador the past two years and it was an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life," said senior Sheena Mendez. "It was something that changed me forever."

Going to a third world country allows students to experience a new culture and lifestyle. They are also educated about many social injustices occurring in El Salvador.

The ultimate goal in El Salvador is to give hope. In addition the students are trying to raise awareness to the student body and community about these social injustices that are occurring daily in El Salvador.

"What I believe is that if you actively choose not to be a part of the solution, then you are prolonging the problem and making the solution that much harder," said Mendez. "We understand that in one week we aren't going to save the world but our presence in El Salvador can make a difference."

There are also many other ways for SHU students to make a difference in the surrounding community.

"There are read-a-louds where students read to younger children in classroom environments in the Bridgeport/Trumbull schools," said senior Kelly Linskey, vice president Student Events Team.

"Something that has taken SHU by storm is the ONE campaign to end world hunger and poverty. SET and ONE, with a number of other groups, are joining forces for 'The SOUPerbowl', which is a canned good and donation drive to help the local food banks that are currently wiped out of food after the holiday season."

The SOUPerbowl will be collecting from Jan. 27-Feb. 3.

One way of learning about community service opportunities on campus is through the Service Learning department, which is coordinated by Phyllis Machledt.

City Scan is one project making a huge impact in the local community. City Scan uses technology to empower and involve citizens of all ages in local government.

In City Scan projects, citizens prioritize desired improvements to the physical environment of their community and gather information on how well government services deliver results.

On city streets, residents of all ages collect data about neighborhood conditions such as graffiti and potholes with handheld computers, custom-designed software, wireless modems, and digital cameras

"I go once a week to help with City Scan and have been volunteering since freshmen year," said junior Lilah Rossi.

City Scan helps address the problems that communities face that are not always seen by the government.

Whether you're a leader of a national group or simply a volunteer, every helping hand makes a difference.