Stanbridge College Hosts Campus Tour for Homeless Students of Project Hope

IRVINE, CA, May 18, 2012 (Press-News.org) Stanbridge College, a private technical school in Irvine, California, recently hosted a campus tour for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from Project Hope School. At Stanbridge, the students were able to learn about different college and career options as they listened to presentations from faculty and staff in the IT, Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant and Physical Therapist Assistant programs and Career Services department. The students, the majority of whom live in temporary housing and homeless shelters, are members of the College and Career Club, a program that is part of the Project Hope School curriculum for junior high level students. This tour is the second field trip that Stanbridge College has hosted for the children of Project Hope School.

During the tour, the Project Hope School students were able to explore IT classrooms and Healthcare Skills Labs on campus. In the Nursing Skills Lab, the kids were in awe as each one felt the pulse and listened to the heart beat of one of the many life-like nursing simulation mannequins. In the Therapy Skills Labs, the students learned about the Occupational Therapy Assistant and Physical Therapist Assistant programs at Stanbridge. They explored a variety of therapy equipment and stations that certified OTAs and PTAs would use to help patients including wheelchairs, platform swings, a simulation bathroom, a rainbow arch and an arm bike.

At the end of the tour, Stanbridge College REACH, on behalf of one cohort in the Vocational Nursing program, presented a Canon PIXMA color printer to the children as a gift to Project Hope School. VN students took their own initiative to raise the funds to purchase the printer for Project Hope.

In the past, Stanbridge College has consistently supported Project Hope School, an organization dedicated to stopping the cycle of homelessness by providing education to children who live in temporary housing or homeless shelters. Stanbridge College staff, faculty and students have provided the children and school with donations of lunches, school supplies, computers and household items for their families.

Stanbridge has partnered with Project Hope School as part of its REACH Beyond the Classroom Service Learning and Civic Engagement initiative. REACH encourages students to support local and global charities and causes by using their skills learned in the classroom to help the needy.

For more information regarding community service at Stanbridge College please visit http://www.stanbridge.edu/reach.

About Stanbridge College
Irvine-based Stanbridge College is a co-educational technical college with an annual enrollment of over 800 students. Founded in 1996, Stanbridge is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges, ACCSC. Stanbridge College offers diplomas and Associate, Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Healthcare and Information Technology.

Stanbridge College has also been recognized by Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc. as a 2009, 2010 and 2011 America's Best Technical Colleges award recipient. Stanbridge is a 2008-2009 School of Excellence Award Recipient from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), and maintains one of the highest continuous pass rates on the NCLEX-PN National Nursing Board Exam in California since 2007 with a 96% cumulative pass rate. Stanbridge College has been named to the 2009, 2010 and 2011 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. For more information, please visit http://www.stanbridge.edu or call (949)-794-9090.

About Project Hope School Foundation
Incorporated in 2003, the Project HOPE School Foundation (PHSF) exists to provide financial support and community advocacy for the children and families of Project Hope School. The vision of the Project Hope School Foundation is to break the cycle of homelessness through exceptional education. Project HOPE School was founded over 20 years ago to meet the academic and psycho/social needs of homeless children (primarily from transient families living in motels). The school is part of the Orange County Department of Education's ACCESS (alternative education) district. To learn more please visit http://www.projecthopeschool.org.