Law club aids Dominicans

When third-year law student Arlene Brens heard about the Bridges to the Dominican Republic program, she knew it was something in which she had to take part. \nThe program, which is based out of Ramapo College in New Jersey, takes groups of college students for two-week community service trips in the remote mountain village of La Cuchilla in the Dominican Republic, according to its Web site.\nVolunteers work toward the group's underlying goal of building understanding between the college students and their Dominican hosts.\nHoping to go on the January trip, Brens was disappointed to learn she would have to wait until May. But the delay didn't stop her from wanting to contribute to the upcoming trip in any way she could. \nTeaming up with the Latino Law Students Association, Brens organized a drive for donations. The supplies they collect will accompany those who visit the developing country this January.\nLLSA will be accepting donations in the law school library during the lunch hour until next Tuesday. Boxes for donations are also in place outside of the LLSA office.\nFather Ronald Stanley, head of the program, was impressed with Brens' determination to help.\n"I've had people in the past express interest in the program who couldn't go and said they would help out," he said. "They rarely follow through. (Brens) is an extremely giving person. We have to get her on the next trip."\nBrens said as college students, it is easy to forget about the bigger world out there. She sees the drive as an easy way to do something little to make a difference.\n"A donation of even something as small as a T-shirt will make some kid so happy because they never get a brand-new shirt," Brens said. "It might not change their situation, but everyone deserves a moment of happiness."\nBrens, who has visited the Dominican Republic in the past, said the poverty level there is much different than in the United States.\n"I've seen how bad it can be," she said. "There is no type of support system ... There is no welfare program, no safety net. There is nowhere to get help."\nBrens said although the people are poor, they are happy and rich in other ways.\n"They still hold on to faith and family and love," she said.\nStanley said the program is most in need of new clothing for school-aged children.\n"We never have enough clothing," he said. "Little boys come up to us absolutely naked, and it's heartbreaking to tell them we don't have anything in their size."\nOther items the drive is hoping to collect are vitamins, pain relievers, small toys, shoes, school supplies, rosaries and bedding. Monetary donations are also accepted. \nLLSA asks for only brand-new donation items.\nStanley said donating to the Bridges program has advantages.\n"It's a way of making sure that what you give will get to these people," he said. "It flies with us, it travels up to the mountains with us, and we distribute it."\nHe describes the people who will be helped by the donations as "beautiful and hardworking."\n"The only difference between us and them is that we happen to be born here, and they were born there," he said. "(This program) changes college students' attitudes towards the poor. They get to know them as friends."\n-- Contact staff writer Haley Beck at habeck@indiana.edu