Over $6,000 for Leukemia Society Raised by Stanbridge College Nursing Student

IRVINE, CA, February 17, 2013 (Press-News.org) Stanbridge College, a technical college that offers Masters, Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees and diploma programs in Allied Health and Information Technology, nursing student, Vanessa Gonzalez-Arroyo raised over $6,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The full-time nursing student, worked with in Team in Training, a non-profit organization that trains runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers to support cancer research, to participate in two events: a marathon in San Diego and a hike in Yosemite where she raised $2,743 with over 40 donations and another $3,500 with 19 donations.

"As an adult with work and school it makes it a lot harder to find time to participate and give time the way I use to. But when your heart wants to help, some how you find the time! I meet an amazing person that was participating in a marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and invited me to join her. That was in 2010, by the beginning of 2011 I had learned a lot about the Team in Training. I learned how to fundraise in ways that I never thought I could," stated Ms. Gonzalez-Arroyo.

Ms. Gonzalez-Arroyo is also heavily involved in the community service initiative at Stanbridge College. Since her program's start in the fall of 2012, she has participated in events including the Alzheimer's Associations Walk to End Alzheimer's where she raised over $250.00 to aid Alzheimer's disease research. Ms. Gonzalez-Arroyo has also volunteered to help the homeless in Orange County by preparing Christmas gift donations and serving warm meals each month.

"Before attending Stanbridge College, I had heard from friends of all the wonderful events it has hosted and been part of. One of them was helping the less fortunate, stated Ms. Gonzalez-Arroyo. "Being part of last year's Christmas gift wrapping for the homeless event followed by serving the dinner to the less fortunate was almost like a dream for me."

Stanbridge College REACH - Beyond the Classroom Service Learning and Civic Engagement initiative encourages students to volunteer and donate resources to help the needy in Orange County and around the world. Students also use their vocational skills learned in the classroom to help the public: administering public flu shots with the Orange County Medical Reserve Corp, setting up PCs with Microsoft Office to donate to children and advising senior citizens on nutrition and health.

Ms. Gonzalez-Arroyo continued, "The feeling you get from helping out is like no other feeling you'll ever have. It gives me such a great feeling of gratitude for everything I've overcome and where I now stand in life."

To learn more about Stanbridge College REACH, please visit http://www.stanbridge.edu.

About Stanbridge College
Based in Irvine, CA, Stanbridge College is a co-educational, technical college with an annual enrollment of over 900 students. Founded in 1996, Stanbridge is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). Stanbridge College offers Master, Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees and diploma programs in Allied Health and Information Technology.

In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Stanbridge College received an award from Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc., as one of America's Best Technical Colleges. Stanbridge has also 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. In 2008-2009 Stanbridge College was the recipient of the School of Excellence Award from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), and since 2007 it has maintained one of the highest continuous pass rates in California on the NCLEX-PN nursing exam, with a 96% five year average pass rate. For more information, please visit http://www.stanbridge.edu or call (949) 794-9090.