While some students will be soaking up the sun over spring break, many others will be traveling with various religious groups on trips where they can offer their services and grow spiritually.
Organizations under the umbrella of UB Campus Ministries and other student groups are offering some unique alternatives for this year's spring break.
Members of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship are driving to Sumter, S.C. where they will work with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a struggling family. The students plan to raise the money needed for the project, food and gasoline; Habitat for Humanity will provide a place to stay.
Before leaving for Sumter, the students will participate in team-building activities so they will be a cohesive group while working and living together over the break. The group is hoping to be back by Easter to spend the holiday with their families.
A team of about 30 students from the Newman Center, UB's Catholic campus ministry, has planned a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to offer themselves in service to the community with Franciscans for the Poor, a faith-based service organization.
Students will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of service projects including working with the homeless, volunteering at an AIDS shelter, tutoring school children and individuals with learning disabilities, and working in Habitat-For-Humanity-style construction projects. The group plans to drive to Cincinnati in rented minivans.
The cost of the trip is $75 per student. The alternative spring breakers will stay in a refurbished convent and worship services will be offered during the week for students who feel so inclined.
"It's a fun time, a moving time. It's a journey," said Maria Clare, a lay campus minister at the Newman Center. Clare said there are three goals of the trip: service, community and prayer.
International Students Inc., a national, Christian service organization, is planning a 10-day bus trip to Atlanta, Ga., and Florida over spring break, leaving on March 21.
While in Atlanta, the students will stay with American host families and attend a two-day international student conference. In Florida, students will have the opportunity for sightseeing in Disney World, Universal Studios and the Kennedy Space Center. On the way back to New York, the group will stop in Washington, D.C.
UB for Christ is in the process of planning a trip to visit another university. Texas is one proposed destination, although closer places are being considered.
Jose Alicea, president of UB for Christ, said that wherever the final destination is, students plan to "read the Bible, [and] love the Lord together."
The Hillel Foundation, Muslim Student Association, and Baha'i do not have plans for spring break as of yet.
For information about spring break possibilities, contact the Campus Ministries Association in 227 Student Union or at 645-2998.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
