Local University of Illinois Springfield students will be looking beyond the beach for spring break to help with something meaningful.
As part of "Alternative Spring Break" - an organization on campus - two groups of students will spend their entire Spring Break, helping to rebuild Puerto Rico and Florida following Hurricanes Maria and Michael that left devastation.
"Alternative Spring Break - that's our main mission - utilizing recess to dedicate it to something better and bigger than yourself...," President of Alternative Spring Break Maddie Reuss said. "Those who choose ASB - their hearts are really in it."
This trip marks the 11th anniversary of Alternative Spring Break at UIS.
Each year, the students go to different locations throughout the U.S., in need, to volunteer.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 8, 2019.
Watch the story online.
Showing posts with label Alternative Spring Break. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alternative Spring Break. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2019
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Alternative Spring Break trades sun for service
Like many of his classmates at the University of Illinois Springfield, Eric Loera is already looking ahead to his big spring break trip.
“It’s going to be the farthest I’ve gone, personally, to Texas,” Loera said.
But while his classmates are soaking up the sun on the beach, Loera is going to be gutting homes that soaked up a little too much water.
“We’re going to be doing demolition,” he said. “Tearing down the houses that were ravaged by the hurricane.”
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast more than six months ago. The storm then dumped torrential rains on southeast Texas — including more than 32 inches in Beaumont alone. The winds have died down. The flood waters have receded. But the storm’s impact remains.
But those in need were not forgotten by the team in charge of the UIS Alternative Spring Break trip.
“When the hurricane was happening, there wasn’t that much we could do,” said organization president Hailey Hawkins. “I knew [our trip] would be a great opportunity for students to go to Texas and really help these people.”
The ASB crew plans to leave early Sunday morning and return late on March 17.
This story aired on WAND TV on March 7, 2018.
Watch the story online.
“It’s going to be the farthest I’ve gone, personally, to Texas,” Loera said.
But while his classmates are soaking up the sun on the beach, Loera is going to be gutting homes that soaked up a little too much water.
“We’re going to be doing demolition,” he said. “Tearing down the houses that were ravaged by the hurricane.”
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast more than six months ago. The storm then dumped torrential rains on southeast Texas — including more than 32 inches in Beaumont alone. The winds have died down. The flood waters have receded. But the storm’s impact remains.
But those in need were not forgotten by the team in charge of the UIS Alternative Spring Break trip.
“When the hurricane was happening, there wasn’t that much we could do,” said organization president Hailey Hawkins. “I knew [our trip] would be a great opportunity for students to go to Texas and really help these people.”
The ASB crew plans to leave early Sunday morning and return late on March 17.
This story aired on WAND TV on March 7, 2018.
Watch the story online.
Monday, March 13, 2017
UIS students travel to Florida for Alternative Spring Break
Some University of Illinois Springfield students will be spending time giving back during spring break.
24 students are set to travel to the Florida panhandle gulf coast to volunteer with environmental restoration projects.
The annual trip is organized by the student-led Alternative Spring Break organization.
The organization's president says the trip offers more than just the chance to volunteer.
"It's just a different experience for college students to have on spring break and good to help others and it's a just a fun way," President of Alternative Spring Break, Haley Hawkins said. "It's a different group of people on campus and it's really diverse. We just all come together and spend spring break helping others and the environment in a different community."
Alternative Spring Break started back in 2009. Past trips included rebuilding homes in states hit by hurricanes and working in soup kitchens in Washington D.C and New York.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 9, 2017.
Watch the story online.
The annual trip is organized by the student-led Alternative Spring Break organization.
The organization's president says the trip offers more than just the chance to volunteer.
"It's just a different experience for college students to have on spring break and good to help others and it's a just a fun way," President of Alternative Spring Break, Haley Hawkins said. "It's a different group of people on campus and it's really diverse. We just all come together and spend spring break helping others and the environment in a different community."
Alternative Spring Break started back in 2009. Past trips included rebuilding homes in states hit by hurricanes and working in soup kitchens in Washington D.C and New York.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 9, 2017.
Watch the story online.
Monday, March 14, 2016
UIS students helping NYC homeless over break
Instead of sunning themselves on a beach in Florida, a group of University of Illinois Springfield students will spend their spring break in New York City helping the homeless.
The 26 students are part of the UIS Alternative Spring Break program. They will be leaving this weekend to spend a week in New York, where they will be volunteering at soup kitchens and other locations that work with the homeless.
Brittani Provost, 22, a senior at UIS, is president of the program. In past years, she’s spent her break helping children at a Head Start program in Biloxi, Mississippi, and working with the homeless in Washington, D.C.
“I’m really interested in social services and do a lot of volunteer work,” Provost said. “It’s something that’s very important for me.”
Mark Dochterman, a faculty member and adviser for the group, was on the D.C. trip two years ago with Provost. He said the students saw firsthand that the homeless don’t always fit the stereotype of someone who just doesn’t want to work.
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on March 12, 2016.
Read the story online.
The 26 students are part of the UIS Alternative Spring Break program. They will be leaving this weekend to spend a week in New York, where they will be volunteering at soup kitchens and other locations that work with the homeless.
Brittani Provost, 22, a senior at UIS, is president of the program. In past years, she’s spent her break helping children at a Head Start program in Biloxi, Mississippi, and working with the homeless in Washington, D.C.
“I’m really interested in social services and do a lot of volunteer work,” Provost said. “It’s something that’s very important for me.”
Mark Dochterman, a faculty member and adviser for the group, was on the D.C. trip two years ago with Provost. He said the students saw firsthand that the homeless don’t always fit the stereotype of someone who just doesn’t want to work.
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on March 12, 2016.
Read the story online.
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