February 21, 2000
Contact: Amy Pate, (615) 322-NEWS
[email protected]
Vanderbilt students forgo beach for service
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- While most college students head for the surf and sand this spring break, a group of Vanderbilt University students will stay in Nashville for a very different experience.
They'll be working with the Magdalene Project, a program that provides resources and support for prostitutes who want to leave the streets. The women-only site promotes empowering women to rehabilitate themselves.
More than 300 Vanderbilt students will volunteer at 25 different alternative spring breaks sites March 4-11. The sites focus on health, youth, urban and poverty issues and are located across the country, from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York City, and in Peru, Mexico and Canada. For example:
- In Washington, D.C., volunteers will work with MetroTeen AIDS, Food and Friends, and Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care in dealing with youth issues surrounding AIDS. Activities will include tutoring children with AIDS, giving presentations to high school students on prevention and delivering meals to homebound AIDS patients.
- In Detroit, Mich., participants from Vanderbilt will work with Save Our Sons and Daughters, which provides support groups for homicide witnesses, crisis intervention and violence prevention in Detroit schools.
- In White Oak, Tenn., a rural community nestled deep in Appalachia, students will work with the Mountain Community Child and Parent Resource Center to provide primary health care such as cholesterol and blood checks.
Now in its 14th year of offering the trips, Vanderbilt was one of the first universities in the country to sponsor alternative spring breaks. A complete list of sites is attached.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the Media Relation homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/News.
Alternative Spring Break 2000
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Santa Fe, N.M.
Participants will visit Beneficial Farms, a community-supported agriculture program. While there, they will learn about biodynamic agriculture systems that utilize environmentally friendly techniques and technologies.
Gila Wilderness, N.M.
Volunteers on this site will work with the Forest Service to improve the trails of a National Wilderness Area as well as learn about the issues surrounding the preservation of America's nature.
HEALTH ISSUES
Birmingham, Ala.
Workers at this site will assist low-income clients of the AIDS Task Force of Alabama and Birmingham AIDS Outreach with housing needs while interacting with them on a social level. They will also visit a cutting-edge AIDS vaccine evaluation clinic and provide educational programming in local high schools.
Nashville, Tenn.
Volunteers will work with Nashville United Cerebral Palsy on a variety of interactive projects, including building wheelchair ramps during the day and participating in wheelchair basketball at night.
New York, N.Y.
Participants will work with the groups God's Love We Deliver and Gay Men's Health Crisis, organizations that provide assistance to those with AIDS. This site is specifically structured for those interested in medicine, research or public health service.
White Oak, Tenn.
Helping the Mountain Community Child and Parent Resource Center, participants will work in a health clinic, provide cholesterol and blood checks and work at a community health fair. They will also interact with children in youth groups and local day care centers.
RURAL POVERTY
Beaufort, S.C.
Volunteers will stay at the Beaufort boys and girls club and work with Habitat for Humanity, Beaufort Child Abuse and Prevention Center, the Low Country Human Development Center and Low Country Parks.
Eastern, Ky.
Working through an Americorps partnership with local school systems, participants will educate students on environmental protection, community beautifcation and cultural preservation.
Brownsville, Texas
Students will work with Good Neighbor Settlement House in projects including home repair for the elderly, after-school tutoring for elementary students and English as a second language instruction for single mothers.
YOUTH ISSUES
Detroit, Mich.
Volunteers will work alongside the organization SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters) to interact with youth in and out of the school environment. SOSAD provides support groups for homicide witnesses, crisis intervention and violence prevention in Detroit.
Kansas City, Mo.
Working with Operation Breakthrough and The Holy Family House, participants will help understaffed organizations care for, play with and educate children who come from impoverished, homeless and single-parent families.
Chicago, Ill.
Volunteers will interact with inner-city youth in an educational and fun atmosphere under the direction of the Chicago Youth Center.
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Competency in Spanish is encouraged for participants of this site, who will work with Barrios Unidos, a national organization aimed at curbing Hispanic gang violence by educating youth about their cultural roots and teaching them skills to expand their options.
Washington, D.C.
Volunteers will work with MetroTeen AIDS and Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care. MetroTeen AIDS is dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV among the adolescent population through education, mentoring and outreach. Pediatric Care offers after-school care, tutoring and counseling for children directly and indirectly affected by AIDS.
URBAN ISSUES
Nashville, Tenn.
ASB members will work with St. Patrick's Shelter, Nashville Family Shelter, Room in the Inn, Vine Hill after-school programs and the Metro School Board. Seeing a side of Nashville they are not often exposed to, participants will become involved in their community as they help children raise their self-esteem.
Atlanta, Ga.
Volunteers will work through Hands on Atlanta, assisting in a broad spectrum of service projects, including house building and renovation, tutoring and mentoring, providing assistance to seniors, working at soup kitchens, addressing the needs of HIV-positive individuals, and forest preservation.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Site members will work with several different organizations, including AIDS Project L.A., Las Familias, Clean Needles Now and Project Angel Food, which deal with issues like homelessness, gang violence, youth mentoring and runaway teenagers.
Denver, Colo.
Working with the Denver Rescue Mission, volunteers will serve food to the homeless, participate in a canned food drive, mentor youth and work in a childcare center.
CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
Tahlequah, Okla.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the Native American Indian culture as they work alongside the Loyal Shawnee in their renovation and building projects and helping in a local Head Start classroom.
Kyle, S.D.
Working on the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation, participants will interact with students at the Little Wound School to learn about each other's culture.
Daufuskie, S.C.
While interacting with the Gullah community, which remains from the slave trade that developed on the Sea Islands in the 1800s, participants will help clean up refuse and tutor at a local school.
WOMEN'S ISSUES
Nashville, Tenn.
Women volunteers will work with several organizations that promote the empowerment of women to improve or rehabilitate themselves, including the Magdalene Project, an organization that helps Nashville prostitutes leave the streets.
INTERNATIONAL
Monterey, Mexico
Requiring a working knowledge of Spanish, participants will work with Caritas, the Central American equivalent to the Red Cross. Volunteers will work with the medical brigade, food bank and social services case department, where they will have direct interaction with community members.
Lima, Peru
Participants should have a working knowledge of Spanish for this site, where they will see first hand the difficulties faced by a developing nation. Students will be working in the "pueblos jovenes" squatter settlements. They will be trying to find solutions in areas of housing, health care, sanitary conditions and education.
Toronto, Canada
ASB members at this site will work with a variety of organizations to explore the complexity of urban issues, particularly in the areas of public health, homelessness, senior citizen care and youth.
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