Alternative spring breaks assist the community

JACK JONES
STAFF WRITER

Over spring break, students from Alma College once again volunteered to assist in different community activities on both a local and national level. They spent their time and break helping communities in need through several organizations, including United Cerebral Palsy, Horse Creek Animal Sanctuary and the Isabella County Soup Kitchen. 

This is all done through the Alma College Alternative Break program. This program has been in place at Alma since its first trip in 2003, with 20 students. The program has continued to help communities around the country. It has also exposed Alma students to new communities and hands-on experiences in different volunteer opportunities. 

This year, two of the alternative breaks went to Tennessee, and the third stayed close to home. They tackled issues of disability awareness, food security and animal welfare. Assisting organizations that work towards alleviating these issues in their work as volunteers.

One group of volunteers worked in tandem with the Horse Creek Animal Sanctuary at their site in Hardin County, Tennessee. Here, the volunteers helped the sanctuary care for abandoned and abused dogs in need of homes, as well as maintain the sanctuary’s property. The Horse Creek Animal Sanctuary houses and seeks homes for abandoned dogs, but in addition, is a wildlife sanctuary of 2,000 acres dedicated to the protection of native wildlife species. The Sanctuary has been around since 1998 and has continued to make efforts towards the welfare of animals and wildlife. 

Another group travelled to assist United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee. This group helped build wheelchair ramps and other accessibility options for disabled people. They also supported the organization in its mission in other ways. The United Cerebral palsy organization was founded in 1985 to expand access to technology for disabled people and continue to aid all people with disabilities to live full independent lives. This is also a part of a larger national organization with the same goals, which has been present since 1949 and is a network of organizations working towards the betterment of lives for people with disabilities. 

The final group stayed local, working with the Isabella County Soup Kitchen in Mt. Pleasant, which provides free meals to those in need of them. The volunteers participated in a variety of programs which assisted the kitchen in working towards its mission of feeding those in need. 

The kitchen first opened in 1990 and has served the community since. 

Alternative breaks are an opportunity that continues to be offered to Alma College students that allows them to engage in hands-on service and experience in many communities. The next alternative breaks are scheduled for April 20-25th, the week between winter and spring term. 

The volunteer opportunities nationally, such as helping repair damage from Hurricane Helene, or alternatively assisting with trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail. More local options are also available such as working to protect the Chippewa watershed and helping to organize educational activities with a local childcare center. All of these are available for student sign up until filled and can be found in your student email.