MSU Law Students Participate in Alternative Spring Break of Community Service

East Lansing, MI — Twelve Michigan State University College of Law students have volunteered their 2009 Spring Break (March 8 - 14) to travel to New Orleans to assist residents with preparation of their 2008 tax returns, as well as with resolution of outstanding federal tax debts and difficulties they are encountering with the Internal Revenue Service.

This second annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB) has been coordinated by second-year student Sarah Cochran and Professor Michele Halloran, director of Clinical Programs at MSU Law. All of the student volunteers have received intensive tax training in order to prepare for ASB, and will be Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) certified.

In New Orleans, students will divide their time between two sites, one of which is the Community Center of St. Bernard (CCSTB), a focal point for community activities within St. Bernard Parish, which suffered vast devastation from Katrina and the other is Gateway Recovery Systems.

ASB is the culmination of months of planning, and has been made possible by generous donations from sponsors, some of whom to date include Varnum Riddering, Lester Allen, Professor Alvin Storrs, Professor Amy McCormick, the Council of Graduate Students, the MSU Law Alumni Association, and the MSU Law Student Bar Association. Anyone interested in donating to this service effort may contact Sarah Cochran at scochran5@gmail.com.

MSU College of Law was in founded in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law and was devoted exclusively to professional education in law. The Law College is one of only a few private law schools to be affiliated with a research university, enabling it to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal education program. Classes offered in its state-of-the-art facilities provide students the benefits of a Big Ten campus while maintaining a small school culture. For more information about the Law College, visit www.law.msu.edu.

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320B Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
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