More than 500 students, families, and friends gathered in St. Ignatius Church on the afternoon of February 27 to attend “Sending Forth,” a Mass for undergraduates departing on spring break service trips to Appalachia. Above (from left), Robert Couch ’09, Molly Murphy ’09, and Matthew Hamilton ’09 participated in a candle-lighting “Commissioning Ceremony” in which trip leaders passed the flame to members of their respective groups. In all, 620 students traveled to 37 sites in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia to build homes, run soup kitchens, repair public facilities, and provide other services in needy communities. The trips culminate a planning and training process that began last October, which included a student-run fund drive to raise $284,000 from corporate sponsors, families, and friends.