Enhance Your Breaks
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 11, 2012) — While most people are focusing on their upcoming midterm grades, one program on campus is already thinking about winter and spring breaks. UK’s Center for Community Outreach Alternative Service Breaks program has recently announced their destinations for the school year’s breaks.
“An Alternative Service Break trip can truly be a life-changing experience,” says Drew Ritzel, ASB student coordinator. “We like to say experience because involvement in a service trip does not begin and end with the trip. Rather, it extends throughout the school year with orientation sessions, educational programs, service projects, fundraising events and of course a reunion gathering!”
This year, ASB is offering something completely new. For the 2012 winter break, ASB is extending the opportunity for those interested to travel to Jinotega, Nicaragua. Never before has ASB offered a winter break service opportunity. Those interested in the Central America service trip will be traveling Dec. 15 through 22.
Just like in years past, ASB will also take volunteers on excursions over UK’s Spring Break. For the 2013 Spring Break, ASB will take volunteers to Guyan Valley, W.Va., Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Biloxi, Miss., Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo, Ecuador. These trips coincide with the UK Spring Break scheduled for March 9 through 17.
Each destination is chosen carefully by the ASB and with each trip, comes a central theme. This year’s trip to Nicaragua, students will focus on empowering the youth around the world to make a difference while working with a program called Outreach360. While in West Virginia, students will work with the Appalachian Service Project in order to gain a better understanding of poverty in the Appalachian area of the country. Other themes include refugee resettlement (Atlanta); rebuilding after Katrina (Biloxi, Miss.); hunger and homelessness (Washington, D.C.); global youth empowerment (Dominican Republic); and global health and wellness (Ecuador).
“What makes our program unique is our focus on education about the volunteer issue,” explains Ritzel. “Prior to each trip, the volunteer groups meet to discuss articles about the area, watch video clips about the issue and have discussions about what the volunteer work means to them. Each trip also completes a volunteer project dealing with their issue before their service break in order to get to know group members and learn the skills necessary to succeed at their service site.”
The deadline to apply for the winter break service trip to Jinotega, Nicaragua, is Friday, Oct. 19. Applications for service trips during UK’s Spring Break are also being accepted, and will be until all spots are filled for each trip. Applications are available online at ukasb.org or in the Center for Student Involvement, 106 Student Center. Along with the application, those interested must submit a $75 deposit to secure their spot ($150 for international trips).
“Our goal is not to make participants volunteer for a week,” Ritzel explains. “Our goal is to make active citizens that want to volunteer for life and make the community a priority in everyday decisions.”
ASB is a program housed in the Center for Community Outreach. The CCO seeks to serve, connect and unite the University of Kentucky with the surrounding community in collaborative efforts to promote life-long community service. For more information about the CCO, visit getinvolved.uky.edu/cco. Connect with the CCO on Facebook here and on Twitter at twitter.com/ukcco.