While thousands of college students flock to locations such as Mexico, Florida or Europe for spring break, many University of Missouri students choose to spend their free time volunteering.
Mizzou Alternative Spring Break, or ASB, is celebrating its 20th year this spring with record numbers: more than 190 participants will make 17 trips to areas in need across the nation.
MU students will serve marginalized populations around the nation on a variety of projects relating to issues such as HIV, food access and environmental conservation.
In Dallas, participants will volunteer with three nonprofit organizations serving the area’s large homeless population by renovating houses, tutoring children and working in soup kitchens.
In South Dakota, students will work on housing projects to aid a Native American reservation experiencing a housing crisis.
In Xenia, Ohio, volunteers will assist 4 Paws for Ability, which trains service dogs to provide companionship and increase the ability of people with disabilities to live independently.
Also this spring, senior Liz Augustine, a political science major, will lead a trip to Charleston, S.C, where students will work with children with disabilities in activities such as adaptive gardening, baseball and therapeutic riding. She says the trips can be humbling experiences that change students’ perspectives on their daily lives.
“I could never imagine the struggles the families at St. Jude Hospital face or the amount of energy and resources it takes to bounce your family back after Katrina,” Augustine said. “It’s amazing what people all over the world face on a daily basis. No matter how hard my life might seem, my problems are tiny compared to what others face every day.”
The total budget for this year’s trips will be more than $65,000, most of which will be raised by the participants and site leaders. Fundraising allows Mizzou ASB to minimize students’ out-of-pocket expenses and guarantees some of the lowest participant fees in Missouri and the Big 12.
Augustine, an ASB executive board member and former president, traveled to the Florida Keys her freshman year and to Memphis, Tenn. her sophomore year. She says the trips can be life-changing experiences for students, many of whom return passionate about helping others.
“These trips really help to broaden students’ horizons,” Augustine said. “Many people go with no background of social justice issues and come back as advocates for a cause.”
For more information, visit asb.students.missouri.edu/.