Spring ASB

Spring Alternative Service Break 2013

This upcoming Spring Break, the Center for Volunteerism and Social Action will be organizing 12 teams to service across the United States and the Pacific Northwest. 

Spring ASBs are week long domestic service trips for which all students are eligible to apply.  Students give their spring break to go into a community to serve, learn, and lead.  Teams are typically composed of 10-11 students and one faculty/staff advisor.

Last Spring, the ASB program organized 12 trips with 132 students and 12 faculty/staff advisors to engage in service and hands-on learning. For the first time in program history, three trips served communities and populations within Idaho while the other nine trips were spread across the United States.

This Spring, 11 ASB teams will serve in six states during March 9-16, 2013. Teams will serve in the following locations: 

Atlanta, Georgia—The ASB team serving in Atlanta, Georgia will serve with Project Open Hand, an organization that creates and delivers meals to people with difficult medical or financial situations.  The team will also stay at Central Night Shelter to serve homeless guests.  Reflections will focus on Hunger & Homelessness, Poverty, and Race Issues. 

San Francisco, California—San Francisco is known as one of the most diverse and progressive cities in the country.  The team will serve at Project Open Hand, an organization originally founded in San Francisco to serve AIDS patients that has since branched out to create and deliver meals to people with all kinds of difficult financial or medical situations.  They will also spend time serving and learning at the San Francisco LGBTQA Community Center and GLIDE Memorial Church, a historically significant center of community and acceptance in the Tenderloin Neighborhood.  The team’s discussions will focus on LGBTQA issues, poverty, and community development. 

Boise, Idaho— City Light Home for Women & Children (a service of the Boise Rescue Mission) was opened in 2000 in Boise, Idaho to serve the needs of members of an extremely vulnerable homeless community. City Light offers free meals, emergency shelter and other assistance to women and their children. Volunteers will be serving at the shelter working on projects that support the mission including remodeling, serving meals and assisting the staff. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the realities of hunger and homelessness, as well as having critical conversations around the causes and effects of domestic violence.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania— Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh works to offer no-cost home repairs to underrepresented groups as well as focusing on helping neighborhoods stabilize and grow. The Pittsburgh ASB team will be working on homes in the Homewood community in the East End of Pittsburgh. This predominately African American community has 28% of its homes vacant and has seen a steady decline in population and businesses. Students will be discussing issues around poverty, urban renewal, race, “white flight” and inequality.

Redwood City, California— The ASB team will work on the Safe at Home Minor Home Repair Program with Rebuilding Together Peninsula.  This program helps seniors, families, and people with disabilities live more independently by addressing minor repair needs before they become serious safety or deferred maintenance issues.  Students will tackle repairs such as debris removal, fence repair, basic home maintenance, exterior painting, light yard work, minor plumbing, minor electrical, heating repair, roof repair, window repair/replacement, door repair/replacement, energy efficiency measures, and some accessibility modifications.  Students will be discussing issues around poverty, urban renewal, race and inequality.

Hammond, Louisiana— The team in Hammond will serve with the Fuller Center.  The scope of the service will include interior construction on a house being built for a single mother and her four children.  The property, and much of Hammond, was damaged by Hurricane Isaac. 

Jerome, Idaho—Jerome, an agricultural community in the Magic Valley of Southern Idaho, has a large population of migrant workers.  The team in Jerome will be serving with organizations centered in community development and education.  They will serve at an interfaith soup kitchen, work on construction projects at the homes of elderly community members, and speak with high school studentsabout making college accessible.  The team will also learn about immigration. 

Eugene, Oregon— The team in Eugene will work with The Nature Conservancy to restore natural habitat at preserves.  Projects will include weed removal, fence removal, plant harvest from nurseries, and planting native seeds and plugs.  Site locations include Coburg Ridge Preserve, Willamette Confluence, and Willow Creek. 

Webster Parish, Louisiana— Working with the Fuller Center, the team in Webster Parish will serve by building and renovating homes alongside the families to whom they belong.  Framing and siding installation may also be a part of the service performed by the team. 

Hood River, Oregon—The team in Hood River will work on projects centered in conservation and environmental stewardship.  Working at three different locations in the Columbia Gorge—Klickitat Trail, Cape Horn Trail, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust—students will restore natural habitat in addition to having the opportunity to listen to educational and interactive presentations. 

Atlantic City, New Jersey—The team in Atlantic City will serve in the efforts to clean up after Hurricane Sandy.  After touching down in Atlantic City, the hurricane destroyed 6000 homes.  Now, 25% of residents live below the poverty line.  Tasks will include sheet-rocking, insulation, flooring work, trim, and painting, as well as flood damage, replacement of insulation, drywall installation, and flooring.