Students Volunteer for Alternative Spring Break

March 7, 2011 – Georgetown students are volunteering all over the country and in El Salvador March 4-13 as part of this year’s Alternative Spring Break programs, a university tradition that began in 1974.

"I'm really interested in nonprofits, so I think that … any chance I get to work with this type of organization is really exciting,” says Kylie Davis, a sophomore psychology major building houses in Florida with Habitat for Humanity. “But aside from that, I just think … that service and doing social justice work is an important aspect of my life that I hope to continue in some way or another whether I go into that field or not. “

Solidarity

“The trips are an opportunity for the students, staff and faculty from Georgetown University to make a difference during spring break,” said Ray Shiu, program director at the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service (CSJ). We’re hoping that we are providing an opportunity for the participants to live in solidarity with the communities that we visit.”

This year there are 213 students participating in 15 different projects.

Newest Program

The Kino Border Immersion, the university’s newest program, brings Georgetown students to the Arizona-Mexico border in partnership with the Jesuit Refugee Service-USA, the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, Borderlinks and San Miguel Cristo Rey High School.

The trip includes a visit to an immigration detention center.

Students live with the families of Cristo Rey students and join members of the Jesuit-run Kino Border Initiative, which serves migrants on the border.

Faith and Justice

“This trip (Kino) is unique for many different reasons, especially since it is completely sponsored by Georgetown’s Campus Ministry,” says trip leader Rev. Kevin O’Brien S.J., executive director of campus ministry. “It represents in the best sense the university’s commitment to faith that does justice.”

He said students on the Kino trip as well as those on a Border Awareness trip to El Paso, Texas, will meet on campus after spring break to talk about immigration issues.

Meaningful Experience

Another Campus Ministry trip is the El Salvador Immersion Program, in which students demonstrate solidarity with the people of El Salvador, spread awareness about social justice issues in El Salvador and raise funds to support grassroots organizing, youth leadership development, women’s empowerment and more.

“Shiu said all the trips’ “truly meaningful experiences come from meeting and living in different communities.”

“I hope that the participants will be deeply affected by their experience and are inspired to seek more ways to incorporate what they have learned into their careers at Georgetown and beyond,” he said.

For more information, visit the Alternative Spring Break and Campus Ministry Trips websites.