More than 300 Michigan State University students are spending their spring break meeting the needs of the homeless, disabled, poor and orphaned, and working to improve the environment, throughout North and Central America.
From March 1-9, these students will participate in Alternative Spring Break (ASB), a living and working experience in which students perform community service and explore the culture and history of the area they are helping.
"ASB is a good blend of having fun and doing something that is very meaningful and useful," said Carlos Fuentes, assistant director of the MSU Service-Learning Center. "We have many students who repeat programs because they enjoyed meeting new friends, traveling and being introduced to a different culture, overseas or within the country."
Examples of projects include distributing food to the sick and infirm in San Francisco; volunteering at a home for abused women and children in Merida, Mexico; working in soup kitchens and shelters in Staten Island, N.Y. and Washington, D.C.; and assisting low-income homeowners with renovations in Ashville, N.C.
New this year is a program option in Merida, Mexico, for one academic credit of study. Offered through the MSU Department of Park Recreation and Tourism Resources, the academic component will examine the role, issues and benefits of out-of-school activities at a Salvation Army orphanage for boys.
"We are hoping to continue to expand the academic element of ASB as well as adding more sites that will attract the interest of students," Fuentes said.
Kristy Snape of Allen Park, Mich., a senior majoring in food science, is the co-chairperson for ASB and will take part in her second alternative spring break this year. She and fellow volunteers are going to Tennessee to build, maintain and restore the Cumberland Trail, a 300-mile state park trail that ASB has been working on for five years.
"I have seen students return from ASB and change their career plans because their eyes have been opened to service," Snape said. "It is a the hands-on experience of seeing the people you are helping that makes an impact on each student."
Additional 2003 ASB locations include Honduras and the cities of Queretaro, Amealco and Puebla in Mexico; Quebec City, Quebec; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Mission, S.D.; and Grantville, Pa.
Since 1991, ASB has placed teams of college students in communities to engage in community service and experiential learning. For more ASB information, visit the Web at www.msu.edu/~asb/
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