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Printer-Friendly ModeAlt Breaks rebuilds runaway shelter
October 22, 2007 —
Every year, a group of SVSU students choose to forego a traditional spring break and travel to provide a service to people in need. The group is called Alternative Breaks and the members exhibit a unique set of qualities that distinguish them from many others.
On Saturday, Alternative Breaks remodeled Innerlink, a facility that offers runaway services and transitional living programs to local children and young adults. Several teams split up and took on tasks such as painting, landscaping, cleaning, and staining various areas of the building.
For about five hours, the students of Alternative Breaks worked to improve the living conditions and appearance of Innerlink. The dedication to community needs and service appeared to be a common interest among all of the students volunteering.
While most Alternative Breaks students participate regularly in local community service programs, they focus on trips they take over winter or spring breaks. Ranging in places from the Dominican Republic to Georgia, students are offered varying opportunities for travel locations.
The students' trips are geared towards several worldwide issues such as HIV/AIDS, immigration, at-risk youth, preservation of the fine arts, and rural poverty. The locations and people may change, but the objective is consistent: to improve the lives of others. Sociology sophomore Rachelle Holmes joined Alternative Breaks this year.
"I just wanted to help people," Holmes said. "When I do, I feel like I accomplish something."
There is an identifiable community that has developed among students in the program.
"The people are awesome and I've gained a lot of new friends," she said.
Special education junior and director of spring alternative breaks Jamey Latocki was in charge of the Innerlink event this year.
"I think the number one characteristic is passion," Latocki said about Alternative Breaks students. "Everyone who comes to the program is passionate about something and we just give them an outlet."
Students feel as though the break sites and service programs are very rewarding, as they are able to change the lives of less fortunate individuals for the better.
"The most rewarding part is seeing the change within yoursellf and the change in other people," Latocki said.
Although the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices in the eyes of the students, there are commitments of time and energy involved in service and traveling.
As students travel around the United States or to other countries, the conditions are not always luxurious and a full week of time is devoted solely to working to improve a community in some way.
Despite the sacrifices, students in Alternative Breaks are happy to serve others around the world.
"You can call it giving up a spring break, but no one else has a break like this," Latocki said. "What's time when you can compare it to the experience of a lifetime?"