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Saginaw Valley State University

December 18, 2017

90 SVSU students engaged in week of service through Alternative Breaks

Eight teams of Saginaw Valley State University students are spending a week of their winter break traveling to seven states in order to volunteer their time as part of SVSU’s Alternative Breaks program.

Alternative Breaks is a student-run organization that sends its members to locations across the U.S. to participate in a range of volunteer opportunities during regular school break periods.

This year, 90 SVSU students are engaged in volunteer service during the week of

Dec. 16-23. Divided into eight teams, each group will travel to a different U.S. community to aid the following nonprofit organizations:

  • Rebuilding Macon, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Macon, Georgia, is one of the organizations that will receive volunteers from SVSU. Students will be working to restore the houses of low-income families while there.
  • Steinbruck Center, located in Washington D.C., is another nonprofit that will benefit from the Alternative Breaks trip. The organization aims to help reduce poverty and inequality in the community through educational programs, critical analysis and social justice advocacy.
  • Clearfork Community Institute, located in Eagan, Tennessee, will receive SVSU volunteers. The goal of the organization is to instill core values such as respect, diversity, integrity, and accountability in community members.
  • LaCasa Inc., located in Goshen, Indiana, is a nonprofit focused on finding housing for those in need through their full-service home ownership center as well as classes centered around finance and homebuyer education. A team of Alternative Breaks students will offer their services for the week.
  • Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition Inc., a nonprofit based in Murphy, North Carolina, will receive assistance from a team of SVSU students. Their mission is to maintain good water quality in creeks, lakes, and rivers that flow into the Hiwassee River through education and threat management.
  • Alternative Breaks will assist Community Missions Inc., located in Niagara Falls, New York, in their mission of providing crisis aid, housing services, recovery services, and youth services.
  • The Life of Freedom Center, located in Miami, will receive a team of SVSU students as well. The organization offers free aid to female survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
  • The Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, based in Asheville, North Carolina aims to offer families stability and security through the construction of safe and affordable housing. One of SVSU's Alternative Breaks teams will assist them in their mission.

After returning from their trips, many of the SVSU students engage in volunteer service for a nonprofit organization in the Great Lakes Bay Region or their home communities devoted to a cause similar to what they experienced on their Alternative Break. For more information about the Alternative Breaks program at SVSU, visit www.svsu.edu/officeofstudentlife/serve/.