February 25, 1998
Contact: Adrienne Outlaw
(615) 322-2706
| |
February 25, 1998 Contact: Adrienne Outlaw (615) 322-2706 |
Note to Editors: A list of this year's project descriptions and work sites along with site leader contacts follows.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Digging ditches or building sandcastles; feeding the starved or guzzling beer; teaching anti-violence or breaking rules; these are some of the options facing students as they prepare for their annual spring break. While most choose to relax, at least 325 Vanderbilt University students are choosing to spend their holidays participating in a program called Alternative Spring Break.
This year the 12-year-old Vanderbilt University student-run community service organization is expanding its mission to promote critical thinking, social action and continued community involvement by combining education and direct service on the local, regional, national and international levels. Vanderbilt students are joining forces with students from Fisk University, also in Nashville, in a group called Inter-Collegiate Alternative Spring Break, or ICASB.
"Although Vanderbilt students can learn a lot from each, we now have the opportunity to learn a whole new set of perspectives from a different student body and that adds another level to our program" said ASB co-chair Jon Zeiders.
Tackling issues as diverse as environmental concerns, disease and violence, students plan to spend their break cleaning up hazardous waste, assisting those with AIDS, building houses, working with at-risk youth or providing health care. They may travel as far as Peru or as close as Nashville. While providing services as well as friendship, participants live among those they help to better understand cross-cultural concerns and mutually promote community values, goals and ideas.
The intensity of a weeklong group volunteer experience also provides students a safe environment to discuss what they have learned and to push each other to think about why they are there.
"It's great to volunteer on your own, but being able to discuss what you're learning with a group of people going through the same thing helps you understand what you're doing and that makes you much more effective in whatever area of service you choose," said Zeiders. "It's easy to continue volunteering after an experience like ASB because now you've got a stake in something. It makes you realize that with all the problems in the world, it all comes down to the hope that you find in a community or bring with you to a community. That hope makes you want to go back and find a solution to the problems you encounter."
Editor's note: Prior to March 1, site leaders may be contacted through Adrienne Outlaw at Vanderbilt News and Public Affairs, 615-322-2706 or a.outlaw@vanderbilt.edu. After March 2, please contact the site liaison to reach groups on location, or call Outlaw at Vanderbilt for assistance.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Lake Pontchartrain, La. 20 participants
Site Liaison: Stephanie Cirillo 504-836-2236
Site Leaders: Chris Danchy and Kristen Bell
Volunteers will travel to Lake Pontchartrain, one of the United States' most unique ecological zones. Site participants will work with Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation to replant lacustrian vegetation. They will also travel to Turtle Cove Marine Research Station to assist in reforestation of Louisiana swampland.
Florida State Parks 12 participants
Site Liaison: Toby Brewer 813-298-2305
Site Leaders: Alix Rowley and Peter Eliasson
Participants will work with AmeriCorps volunteers to improve trails and restore park areas. Students will assist disabled persons and participate in environment education programs during their weeklong camping trip.
Atlanta, Ga. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Michele Naporano 404-298-8900 ext. 208
Site Leaders: Paul Richter and Jackie Lapan
Volunteers will work with AmeriCorps volunteers in a variety of environmental services including streambank restoration, greening work, and environmental education. Students will also get to participate in a day of AmeriCorps training.
HEALTH ISSUES
Birmingham, Ala. 15 participants
Site Liaison: Lee Hall 1-800-442-7202
Site Leaders: Siobhan Fitzgerald and Matt Corzine
Workers at this site will assist clients of the AIDS Task Force of Alabama and AIDS Outreach with housing needs while interacting with them on a social level.
New York, N.Y. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Vivian Brown 212-294-8159
Site Leaders: Kristen Keely and Ben Wagner
Participants will work with the groups God's Love We Deliver and Gay Men's Health Crisis, organizations that provide assistance to those with AIDS. This site is specifically structured for those interested in medicine, research or public health service.
Nashville, Tenn. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Randy Smith 615-242-4091
Site Leaders: Wells McGee and Nicole Gavigan
Working with Nashville United Cerebral Palsy, volunteers will build wheelchair ramps for underprivileged families during the day and work with AmeriCorps volunteers helping the elderly in the evening.
White Oak, Tenn. 12 participants
Site Liaison: June Pile 423-784-7850
Site Leaders: Matt Oster and Jessica Shah
Helping the Mountain Community Child and Parent Resource Center, participants will work in a health clinic, provide cholesterol and blood checks and work at a community health fair. They will also interact with children in youth groups and local day care centers.
RURAL POVERTY
Hampton, S.C. 20 participants
Site Liaison: Mary Cabanis 803-525-1822 or 803-943-9044
Site Leaders: Sapna Patel and Cole Hutchison
Participants will assist with the construction of a new youth center and visit the Low Country Human Development Center for pregnant teens.
Eastern, Ky. 18 participants
Site Liaison: Nancy Thames 606-622-6543
Site Leaders: Donovan Miller and Rachel Cleaver
Participants will work with the AmeriCorps program that teaches fundamental skills in mathematics and English as well as issues including environmental protection, literacy, community beautification and cultural preservation.
YOUTH ISSUES
New Inter-collegiate ASB program
Detroit, Mich. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Clementine Barfield 313-361-5200
Site Leaders: Saran Latterner, Vanderbilt University
Victor Oden, Fisk University
Volunteers will work alongside the organization SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters) to interact with youth in and out of the school environment. SOSAD provides support groups for homicide witnesses, crisis intervention and violence prevention in Detroit.
Kansas City, Mo. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Kim Jacobs 816-756-3511
Site Leaders: Carra Cote and Charlie Brown
Working with St. Vincent's Family Service Center, Operation Breakthrough and The Holy Family House, participants will help understaffed organizations care for, play with and educate children who come from impoverished homeless and single-parent families.
Milwaukee, Wis. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Jerome Wonders 414-229-5916
Site Leaders: Cedric Gardner and Peachy Meyers
Students will work alongside ex-gang members to explore gang development issues facing youth and the city. They will also help develop youth intervention programs.
Chicago, Ill. 16-20 participants
Site Liaison: Wendy Fine 312-787-2490
Site Leaders: Daniel Martinez and Jessica Engelson
Volunteers will interact with inner city youth in an educational and fun atmosphere under the direction of the Chicago Youth Center.
Santa Cruz, Calif. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Yvonne Delarosa 408-457-8208
Site Leaders: Moriah Lewis and Chris Jarosh
Competency in Spanish is encouraged for participants of this site. Students will work with Barrios Unidos, a national organization aimed at curbing Hispanic gang violence by educating youth about their cultural roots and teaching them skills to expand their options.
URBAN ISSUES
Nashville, Tenn. 16 participants
Site Liaison: Janet Wolf 615-228-7334
Site Leaders: Jennifer Leach and Brian Oakley
ASB members will work with St. Patrick's Shelter, Nashville Family Shelter, Room in the Inn, Vine Hill after-school programs and the Metro School Board. Seeing a side of Nashville they are not often exposed to, participants will become involved in their community as they help children raise their self-esteem.
Los Angeles, Calif. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Stacey Mitchell 213-467-2782
Site Leaders: Dana Powers and Holly Gordon
Site members will work with several different organizations dealing with issues like homelessness, gang violence, youth mentoring and runaway teenagers.
Denver, Colo. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Candy LaRue 303-297-1815
Site Leaders: Matt Hanna and Ali Talsky
Working with the Denver Rescue Mission, volunteers will serve food to the homeless, participate in a canned food drive, mentor youth and work in a childcare center.
Monterey, Mexico 12 participants
Site Liaison: Claudi Ayala 011-528-333-0990
Site Leaders: Chris Kyle and Camilla Sannstevan
Requiring a working knowledge of Spanish, participants will work with Caritas, the Central American equivalent to the Red Cross. Volunteers will work with the medical brigade, food bank and social services case department, where they will have direct interaction with community members.
Lima, Peru 12 participants
Site Liaison: Waldo Diaz 011-511-425-0875
Site Leaders: Belen Paley and Bryce Benson
Participants should have a working knowledge of Spanish for this site, where they will see first hand the difficulties faced by a developing nation. They will be trying to find solutions in areas of housing, health care, sanitary conditions and education.
CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
Big Cabin, Okla. 20 participants
Site Liaison: Don Greenfeather 918-456-0671 ext. 2333
Site Leaders: Christy Bagwell and Randy Wooten
Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the Native American Indian culture as they work alongside the Loyal Shawnee Indians in their renovation and building projects and helping in a local head-start classroom.
Kyle, S.D. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Linda Hunter 605-455-2461
Site Leaders: Cherie Uchtmann and Ryan Nunley
Working on the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation, participants will interact with students at the Little Wound School to learn about each other's culture.
Daufuskie, S.C. 12 participants
Site Liaison: Dr. Brett Williams 803-816-3174
Site Leaders: David McTaggart and Lauren Lobrano
While interacting with the Gullah community, which remains from the slave trade that developed on the Sea Islands in the 1800's, participants will help clean up refuse and tutor at a local school.
-VU-
Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately
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in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute,
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education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range
of graduate and professional degrees.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the News and Public Affairs home page
on the Internet at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News.