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Alternative spring break trips give back
November 17, 2006
When Hurricane Katrina rocked the gulf coast region last year, 80 PLU students offered to spend their spring break vacation cleaning up the disaster in New Orleans.
However, there was only room for 16 students to participate in the service trip. The large response signaled a growing interest among students to give back to others, said Joel Zylstra, program coordinator for Student Involvement and Leadership.
A number of campus offices are responding to the growing interest by sponsoring “Service Project Runaway: PLU Alternative Spring Break Trips.” This March, eight service-oriented trips will be offered where students work with local or national organizations.
“They are offering a good range of opportunities,” said student Karen McMahon.
Among the organizations students can choose to work with are the Campbell Farm in Yakima, Wash.; Cristo Rey Border Immersion on the United States-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; the Ghandi Institute in Memphis, Tenn.; Habitat for Humanity in Spokane; and Heifer International Ranch in Perryville, Ark.
Local projects are also available with various organizations in Tacoma and Seattle. Trips vary in length from one to eight days and each has a distinct focus, Zylstra said.
“Some are going to come from the religious perspective, some from the service perspective, or social justice or a sustainability focus,” he explained. “We wanted to have as many options for students to explore their interests.”
As a Spanish major, McMahon said she is interested in the border immersion trip in Texas that will have students working with people from Mexico. However, she’s also inspired by the work of Heifer International to combat hunger and poverty, and thinks the trip to Arkansas would be more uplifting than the trip to Texas.
Students will be responsible for the cost of the trip, but fundraising opportunities will be available to help offset the cost, Zylstra said. The organizers are providing information about the trips before Thanksgiving break so students can discuss it with their parents over the holidays.
“You can go home at Christmas and ask for $10 from everyone,” McMahon said about paying for the trips.
She added that the university is intentional about funding and making opportunities available to all students. For example, students who went to New Orleans last spring break paid only $200 each, she said.
To participate, students are required to fill out an application specific to the trip they want to be involved in. Organizers would like to have the participants in place by February, so students can go through a preparation and education process before leaving, Zylstra said.
“Students will come back with stories. They’ll come back and reflect on the trip – how it fits with their lives and academic career. We want the learning to be sustained and honored,” said Oney Crandall, director of the Center for Public Service.
Both Zylstra and Crandall stressed the collaboration between campus offices that are making these trips possible. No single office is responsible for developing the idea or planning the trips, Crandall said.
“It’s a very interesting effort because I think there’s something philosophical in this. We’re all trying to collaborate in this,” she said.
Campus offices involved in the planning process include: Student Involvement and Leadership, Campus Ministry, University Congregation, the Center for Public Service, the Volunteer Center, ASPLU, Outdoor Rec, the Diversity Center, GREAN, Catholic Campus Ministry, Residential Life and the Wang Center.
For more information about each trip and who to contact, click here.
A number of campus offices are responding to the growing interest by sponsoring “Service Project Runaway: PLU Alternative Spring Break Trips.” This March, eight service-oriented trips will be offered where students work with local or national organizations.
“They are offering a good range of opportunities,” said student Karen McMahon.
Among the organizations students can choose to work with are the Campbell Farm in Yakima, Wash.; Cristo Rey Border Immersion on the United States-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; the Ghandi Institute in Memphis, Tenn.; Habitat for Humanity in Spokane; and Heifer International Ranch in Perryville, Ark.
Local projects are also available with various organizations in Tacoma and Seattle. Trips vary in length from one to eight days and each has a distinct focus, Zylstra said.
“Some are going to come from the religious perspective, some from the service perspective, or social justice or a sustainability focus,” he explained. “We wanted to have as many options for students to explore their interests.”
As a Spanish major, McMahon said she is interested in the border immersion trip in Texas that will have students working with people from Mexico. However, she’s also inspired by the work of Heifer International to combat hunger and poverty, and thinks the trip to Arkansas would be more uplifting than the trip to Texas.
Students will be responsible for the cost of the trip, but fundraising opportunities will be available to help offset the cost, Zylstra said. The organizers are providing information about the trips before Thanksgiving break so students can discuss it with their parents over the holidays.
“You can go home at Christmas and ask for $10 from everyone,” McMahon said about paying for the trips.
She added that the university is intentional about funding and making opportunities available to all students. For example, students who went to New Orleans last spring break paid only $200 each, she said.
To participate, students are required to fill out an application specific to the trip they want to be involved in. Organizers would like to have the participants in place by February, so students can go through a preparation and education process before leaving, Zylstra said.
“Students will come back with stories. They’ll come back and reflect on the trip – how it fits with their lives and academic career. We want the learning to be sustained and honored,” said Oney Crandall, director of the Center for Public Service.
Both Zylstra and Crandall stressed the collaboration between campus offices that are making these trips possible. No single office is responsible for developing the idea or planning the trips, Crandall said.
“It’s a very interesting effort because I think there’s something philosophical in this. We’re all trying to collaborate in this,” she said.
Campus offices involved in the planning process include: Student Involvement and Leadership, Campus Ministry, University Congregation, the Center for Public Service, the Volunteer Center, ASPLU, Outdoor Rec, the Diversity Center, GREAN, Catholic Campus Ministry, Residential Life and the Wang Center.
For more information about each trip and who to contact, click here.