Alternative Spring Break (ASB)
Basic Information
Alternative Spring Break (ASB) was founded in 2005. While some
students spend hundreds of dollars on exotic spring break trips,
other spend their break doing a service project. ASB allows
participants to do important community service work, grow as
people, and reflect on their experiences. If you have any questions
or concerns, feel free to email the president of this organization,
Esther Flaharty.
Mission Statement
Alternative Spring Break empowers members to become active
citizens through education, direct service, and reflection.
Past Experiences
2013 brought the group to Biloxi, Mississippi. The team worked
on multiple projects including crafting oyster bags from chicken
wire and later in the week filling the bags which will be placed in
the gulf to reduce erosion. The students also cut trails at a local
state park and aided in tornado relief by cleaning up a local
church hit in February 2013. In their spare time the group saw the
worlds largest rocking chair, spent time at Biloxi Beach, and made
their own fun hanging out at the camp site.
In 2012 the group
travelled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to work with an agency known as Community Collaborations International in
disaster relief. They worked with the Red Cross creating disaster
relief bags, on sites of destroyed homes cleaning up debris, and
fixed up some other local organizations affected by the tornado
that swept through the city in April of 2011. The team also took a
free day at NASA's Space Camp and had a blast.
In 2011, ASB teamed up
with Community Collaborations International in Niceville, Florida.
Participants spent the week working on various environmental
projects to restore eroding shore lines by creating natural
barriers with oysters and emergent sea grasses. The group also
helped serve needs of the local community by helping with the
general upkeep of a state park, museum, and the 4-H camp they
stayed at for the week.
In 2010, the group set out
to help in the Big Apple (New York, NY) with the Youth Service
Opportunities Project to help fight hunger and homelessness.
The week involved various service projects such as working at
shelters, soup kitchens, schools, food and clothing banks and other
direct-service institutions in New York City.
In 2009, ASB revisited the
Cumberland Trail in Soddy Daisy, TN. They spent the week
working an a difficult portion of the trail moving large rocks,
creating cribbage walls, and learning how to put a maddox and
firerake to good use. Their efforts helped conserve natural
resources which have historical and cultural heritage to the
area.
In 2008, students traveled
to Crossville, TN to help create paths in the Cumberland
Trail. They also cleaned out a cave and waterfall in the
area. The trip culminated with a 6-mile clean-up hike through
a path that was devastated by a tornado.
In 2007, students traveled
to New Iberia, LA to help with Hurricane Rita relief efforts.
Students worked with the Southern Mutual Help Association to help
families in rural New Iberia with recovery efforts from Rita. The
students demolished, painted, and worked on framing for a
house.
In 2006, ASB traveled to
Pass Christian, MS to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. Students
helped with debris clean-up and landscaping, and they worked
in the distribution center at God's Katrina Kitchen, a central hub
of the hurricane relief effort. Participants also received a tour
of the gulf coast area six months after Katrina hit.
In 2005, the group
traveled to Atlanta, GA where they worked at an animal shelter,
helped out at a food bank, and spent time with students from a
local elementary school.