The month of March is near, and the one thing that many students are thinking about is spring break—which starts March 15 and ends on March 22. Many students will probably spend their spring break with family, others will probably spend their break working, or some will probably spend their break hanging out with their friends. But, if some students would rather volunteer this spring break, or do something a little different than what one is used to, the center for leadership and service [CLS] is hosting the third annual Alternative Spring Break program.

Alternative Spring Break started at CLS in 2013 after Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey—as well as neighboring states—hard, destroying anything in its path. Many homes were destroyed displacing many elderlies, disabled people and low income families. This program allows students to help repair houses of those in need. “During the last Alternative Spring Break, the volunteers helped rebuild homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012,” informs ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Meghan Tell, who is a service specialist for CLS and a junior majoring in speech language hearing, “the students and staff members were divided into three groups that worked on three separate homes in the Atlantic City area.”  Two of the three groups worked on the similar projects entailing painting, spackling, and sheetrock repair, while the third group worked on removing walls, carpet, and roofing. While participating in this program, students will enjoy knowing that their time is being devoted to help rebuild houses to those in need like the elderly, disabled, and low income families. Participants can also expect to get to know one another as they will be spending four days and three night together. The program begins on Sunday, March 15 and ends on Thursday, March 19. Students can apply for this program by going on Cougar Link and visiting the Cougar Volunteer page. After completing the application students will be asked to complete a short interview. Tell continues to inform that CLS is “looking for approximately two dozen students for Alternative Spring Break.” The application will remain open until March 1, 2015..

For more information about Alternative Spring Break please visit Cougar Link or visit the Alternative Spring Break page.