Parties. Alcohol. Beaches.
Three words that sum up the typical college student’s spring break.
But for those who want to spend their week off a little more civilized, the Office of Leadership and Student Organizations has offered an alternative – the Un-BULL-ievable Spring Break.
The program began last year and allows USF St. Petersburg students to help communities in need by performing service projects in select locations.
From March 14-19, students involved with USB will split up in three groups that will travel to New Orleans, Atlanta and Boone, N.C.
The New Orleans trip will focus on home rebuilding and reconstruction in neighborhoods that are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the area in 2005.
Site leader Teri Deardorff said that during the trip, students will volunteer with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, a nonprofit organization that focuses on engaging local youth to help improve the city.
“(The homes) are then sold to teachers for lower than market prices to revitalize the area and the schools within the city,” she said.
Students venturing out to Boone will focus on sustainability and environmental consciousness by working and living on the Woodland Harvest Mountain Farm, a local, off-the-grid farm.
“I purposefully chose a location in the Blue Ridge Mountains because I love Appalachian culture and the lessons it provides the soul,” said Paige McDaniel, the site’s leader. “I wanted to introduce other students to this great region and highlight environmental issues in one of the most beautiful environments.”
The group traveling to Atlanta will work with Intown Collaborative Ministries Homelessness and Poverty, an organization that seeks to weaken the widespread surge of poverty through community outreach.
Atlanta’s site leader Taylor Singleton said she searched for locations in the south with high rates of poverty and homelessness.
“Location was a secondary decision, but it does play a huge role in the magnitude of homelessness and poverty,” Singleton said.
“Atlanta is number one in the nation for childhood homelessness.”
