Spring Break Equals Community Service for Winthrop Students

March 08, 2016

Quick Facts

bullet point This year's service sites are: Pulaski, Virginia; Selma, Alabama; and Atlanta, Georgia.
bullet point Approximately 40 students, faculty and staff are participating this year.

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ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Immerse yourself in a culture completely different from your own. Explore the Civil Rights Movement. Help the homeless.

These are just some of the items on the checklists of the 40 Winthrop University students, faculty and staff who will spend the March 14-18 Spring Break holiday engaging in meaningful community service.

The Alternative Spring Break program offers college students the chance to complete community-based service projects in other cities while also learning more about the cultures and world around them.

This year's three service sites include repeat visits to popular service sites Atlanta, Georgia, and Selma, Alabama, as well as a new visit to Pulaski, Virginia.

"The Selma trip is really popular," said Laura Foster, program director for volunteer and community service in the Office of Center for Career Development and Internships. "This is our third year visiting there. Students really like working with the youth there and the focus of civil rights."

Foster added that several students who have gone on the Selma trip have made return trips on their own and engaged with groups there.

Read more about the upcoming trips:

*Pulaski, Virginia: Pulaski is a small Appalachian town with a unique lifestyle and culture. Students will work with the organization Beans and Rice, Inc., a company whose mission is to make a positive impact on the local community. Students will volunteer with after school programs, participate in historical tours and hear from community speakers. They will also tour the Natural Bridge.

*Selma, Alabama: Selma is considered the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. Students will team up with the Freedom Foundation and volunteer in after school programs at the McRae Learning Center as well as tour historic sites such as the Rosa Parks Museum and the Southern Poverty Law Center's Civil Rights Memorial.

*Atlanta, Georgia:
Atlanta's metropolitan area hosts more than 20,000 individuals experiencing homelessness as well as a large population of people experiencing hunger. Through Safe House Outreach, students will work with soup kitchens, resource drives and advocacy professionals. They will also tour the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Foster said this year's trips will earn students multiple cultural event credits, a change from previous trips.

Interested in learning more about Alternative Spring Break, including how to participate next year? Contact Foster at 803/323-2520 orfoster@winthrop.edu.


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