More than 60 Elon University students have traded their textbooks and laptops for hammers and paintbrushes over Spring Break this week as they take part in service trips to Argentina, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, as well as locales closer to home such as the Gulf Coast and Charleston, S.C.
Some of the programs, led by the Kernodle Center for Service Learning, Catholic Campus Ministry, the Baptist Student Union and Elon Hillel, are recurring service experiences. Others are inaugural programs where students are setting the standard for future trips.
Among the destinations for the Alternative Spring Break programs:
Montego Bay, Jamaica: With six days in the island nation, students in the inaugural Kernodle Center program are working in education, construction and environmental projects.
San Juan, Dominican Republic: The fifth service trip to the nation led by the Kernodle Center, students are working with the “Cambiando Vidas” organization to build houses for economically troubled families.
Buenos Aires, Argentina: Elon Hillel is sponsoring a program for eight students who are working with a variety of Jewish-related service agencies, as well as with a nonprofit in one of the poorest areas of the city. Service activities include light construction, painting and delivering children’s clothing collected at Elon.
Bay St. Louis, Miss.: Through education, hands-on experience and reflection, students are playing a role in community rebuilding and gaining an understanding of the repercussions that arise from the unpredictability of natural disasters. It is the Kernodle Center’s 23rd service trip to the area since 2005.
Charleston, S.C.: Catholic Campus Ministry and the Baptist Student Union are in Charleston working with Habitat for Humanity through the “Collegiate Challenge” program. Though in the same town, the two groups are working at different sites.