December 23, 2001
For Immediate Release
Contact: Holly Brooker
(845) 255-1450 xt.1301 Performing acts of generosity for appreciative community members is a common activity for Ulster BOCES students. From food and clothing drives to offering free haircuts and manicures to those in need, Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center students help out whenever they can. Most recently, students at the Career & Technical Center decided to pass the hat to assist the families of those killed on September 11th at the World Trade Center.

The funds were collected as part of the Center’s VICA activities. VICA stands for the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, an international organization of secondary career and technical school students. Its purpose is to unite all students enrolled in a trade and to develop leadership abilities through participation in educational, recreational, vocational, civic, and social activities.

According to the Career & Technical Center’s principal, Gary Suraci, in the days following the tragedy, VICA students were on the lookout for any way in which they could help. “They just decided to go around the building and collect money from teachers, other students, whomever wanted to contribute,” said Suraci, adding that $845 was raised to aid the families of police, fire, and EMS heroes who died in the World Trade Center disaster.