PATCHOGUE, NY – MARCH 18, 2008 – The St. Joseph’s College Chapter of “Keep a Child Alive” (KCA), a campus-based effort to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic plaguing South Africa, has raised more funds than any other national college chapter, according to statistics reported by KCA College, an action-oriented network of college students who support the mission and work of “Keep a Child Alive.” The most active of all 157 national college chapters in North America, St. Joseph’s 42 chapter members have raised more than $4,000 to date.

“Keep a Child Alive” is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing life-saving medication, support and orphan care directly to children and families with HIV/AIDS, who can’t afford essential treatment and medical care. An urgent response to the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa, KCA aims to create a greater awareness about the issue and combat AIDS on a global level. With more than 28 million dead and 15 million orphaned, the disease continues to wipe out whole societies, threaten the economic infrastructure and create tragic family devastation.

The St. Joseph’s College Chapter of KCA was established on the College’s Long Island Campus in March 2007. The group, which holds events throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for the cause, hopes to raise even more funds by hosting their own “Keep a Child Alive” Day on April 11, 2008. Activities throughout the day will focus on educating the greater college community on the issue for the benefit of KCA and will include entertainment, with a special guest performance by children from Blue Point Elementary School, in the D’Ecclesiis Auditorium at 12:40 p.m. and a murder mystery dinner in the McGann Conference Center at 7 p.m.

“Keep a Child Alive Day brings the College together to support those fighting the AIDS epidemic in Africa by saving a generation of children,” explains Sister Karen Donohue, moderator of the St. Joseph’s College chapter of “Keep a Child Alive.”

All proceeds from “Keep a Child Alive” Day will go to funding ARV treatment and health services for children and families afflicted by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information, please call Gianna Hooper (631) 447-3334 or visit www.sjcny.edu.

St. Joseph’s College is located at 155 W. Roe Blvd. in Patchogue, and is accessible via the South Service Road of Sunrise Highway, just east of Exit 52 (Waverly Ave.).

About St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Suffolk, Long Island, the College offers degrees in over 22 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Professional and Graduate Studies.