Alternative Spring Break
For the past several years, Arcadia University's Community Service Office has planned Alternative Spring Break service trips for students and staff. These trips give students a chance to lend a helping hand in needy areas and learn about the culture of other regions as well as networking with other University students. For first trip in Spring of 2004, a small group traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to assist with Habitat for Humanity with hurricane relief. For Spring Break 2005, an enthusiastic group of students traveled to Tijuana, Mexico to assist Esperanza International with its community building initiatives. Spring Break 2006, 2007, and 2009 brought the need for a response to the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Region. A large group of Arcadia students traveled to Jean Lafitte, Louisiana and Boothsville, Louisiana in the Bayou Region to assist Southern Mutual Help Association with its rebuilding efforts. In the week of working, the group worked on rebuilding 7 homes throughout the community. Students also traveled to Tijuana, Mexico in 2008 and 2010; New Orleans, Louisiana in 2011; and Immokalee, Florida in 2012.
Alternative Spring Break 2013
LaPlace, Louisiana
In the River Forest housing development in
LaPlace, scores of residents saw water enter their homes, often rising 2 to 4
feet. Throughout the neighborhood, trucks and cars were partially submerged.
The water began to recede a bit by the afternoon, but many residents were still
seeking pumps or using buckets to empty water from their homes. The streets
remained covered with water too high to travel through by car or truck. The
governor's office said 3,000 trapped by flooding needed rescue in LaPlace, and
at least 1,500 had been evacuated. The state dispatched 89 buses to drive
residents, including elderly people in an assisted living facility, to shelters
in Alexandria and Shreveport. Shelters in Alexandria and Shreveport took in
3,500 evacuees from the parish and more were expected to join them when all was
said and done. Homes built eight feet above the ground still had 2-3 feet of
water in them.
During Spring Break, a group of 40 from Arcadia including
undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni and staff spent their
spring break in LaPlace, LA. The group
worked with National Relief Network to demolish trailers damaged by Hurricane
Isaac. Chris Baines '13 and Max Kulp ‘13
were the Student Coordinators of Alternative Spring Break and worked with
various organizations and people to finalize the trip.
Previous Alternative Spring Break Trips
To see the pictures and read the stories from previous trips, click on the appropriate link below:
Immokalee, Florida - Spring Break 2012
In 2012, Arcadia Community Service traveled to Immokalee, FL
for Alternative Spring Break. Immokalee is a city in southern Florida that is
made up predominately of migrant workers. Most on the community members are
living impoverished lived and are unable to afford homes, or the upkeep for the
homes that may have. In Immokalee, 32 Arcadia volunteers worked with agencies
such as Habitat for Humanity, IHope, and the Guadalupe Center working on home
construction for homes, both new and old. While there, we also have the
opportunity to work with pre-K children.
New Orleans, Louisiana - Spring Break 2011
Tijuana, Mexico - Spring Break 2010
New Orleans, Louisiana - Spring Break 2009
Tijuana, Mexico - Spring Break 2008
Boothsville, Louisiana - Spring Break 2007
Jean Lafitte, Louisiana - Spring Break 2006
Tijuana, Mexico - Spring Break 2005
