BINGHAMTON, NY --- Nicole DelVillano, a freshman at SUNY Platsburgh, and a member of St. Michael's Church will be participating in the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Real Break Trip to the Holy Land.

Nicole is serving as part of a team of Orthodox college students who is spending the days of their annual Spring Break (March 12-22, 2010) working with the poor and visiting the Holy sites in and near Jerusalem . 

The group is being led by, Fr. Nicholas L. Andruchow, pastor of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Flagstaff, Arizona and His Grace Bishop Savas of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The project will take place in the Holy Land, primarily near the city of Jerusalem. The students will be mainly working with Four Homes of Mercy, a charitable organization founded over 60 years ago. Their work will consist of maintenance, cleaning, cooking as well as interaction with the handicapped children and others at Four Homes of Mercy. The group will also visit the holy sites in northern Israel and around the Sea of Galilee as well as in Jerusalem and the West Bank. In addition, they will will be visiting Palestinian Christians in order to learn their stories and share with them worship.

This Spring Break, Nicole will be joining over one hundred college students who will make a real change for those less fortunate through Orthodox Christian Fellowship’s Real Break program. Real Break is an alternative spring break service-learning program designed to provide college students with life-transforming experiences that strengthen their faith and broaden their Christian world-view. OCF offers several trips to locations all around the globe where students have the opportunity to serve and minister to the poor with compassion and humility. This year the OCF planned a total of 12 trips from February 20th through March 27th. Trip locations include: Alaska, Constantinople, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Jerusalem, Mexico, Romania and San Francisco. College students will have the incredible opportunity to renovate parishes and monasteries, work with innocent orphans and serve those less fortunate them.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is the official collegiate campus ministry program under SCOBA. Its mission is to support fellowships on college campuses, whose members experience and witness to the Orthodox Christian Church through community life, prayer, service to others and study of the Faith. The National OCF headquarters is located in Indianapolis, IN and supports over 270 local university chapters across North America. In addition, it provides  a variety of thoughtful and innovative programming, including regional training, annual conferences, and domestic and international service learning programs.

For more information please consult the OCF website at www.ocf.net.