Saint Anselm Students Seek a Spring Break Alternative

Beginning Friday, Feb. 27, Saint Anselm College students will board vans and planes bound for sites across the United States and Central America, and will spend their spring break rehabilitating homes, working with children, and serving the elderly and the homeless.

In all, 216 students will fan out over 15 sites to perform a week of service. Locations range from Appalachia to Maine, two Indian Reservations, and Costa Rica and Honduras.

Originating in 1991 when 20 students volunteered at a community in Orland, Maine, the program is this year sponsoring the largest number of participants ever.

They will work with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging in Costa Rica, and help inner city youth at St. Benedict Preparatory School, in Newark, N.J. They will tutor students at St. Joan of Arc School in New Orleans and The Benedictine School for Exceptional Children in Maryland. And they will serve the homeless and disadvantaged in three cities: Boston, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia

Students will learn, as well as serve. In Arizona and South Dakota, students will live on the Navajo and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations for a week of cultural immersion. Tribal delegates will offer lessons in Native American history and culture.

Each group will set aside time for group reflection, as well as to experience cultural opportunities. Prior to departure, many trips invite program alumni or faculty experts to discuss issues of history, language or economics.

Although many trips never see a tangible final product from their service, the week is about much more says Joycelin Tremblay, Campus Minister of Faith and Justice Initiatives, who manages the SBA program.

“Doing service is so much more than helping someone else,” she said. “It gives our students a better understanding of themselves, their peers, and the world around them. Our students enter into a community, offer themselves in service, build meaningful relationships, and come home with a better understanding of what it means to truly live.”

Update: Read post reflecting on Spring Break Alternative experience