February 28, 2020
SVSU students set to help communities across the U.S. during spring break
![Alt Break](/media/newsroom/winter2020/AltBreaks17mini.jpg)
Sixty Saginaw Valley State University students will continue their predecessors’ tradition of spending spring break week providing support and good will to in-need communities across the nation.
SVSU’s Alternative Breaks program organized six groups — with 10 students participating in each — set to begin traveling when spring break week begins Saturday, Feb. 29.
When they arrive at their destinations, each team will spend the week supporting agencies and nonprofits engaging a variety of issues including providing shelter for those in need, empowering communities to overcome racism, and educating children about HIV and AIDS.
The following is a list of the planned Alternative Breaks trips and objectives:
- At the Capital Area Therapeutic Riding Association in Grantville, Pennsylvania, SVSU students will support individuals with special needs and disabilities by exploring non-traditional therapies that could benefit them. At the nonprofit, that “non-traditional therapy” often involves connecting visitors with animals such as horses, goats and cats.
- In Memphis, SVSU volunteers will provide education about HIV and AIDS to children at Hope House Memphis, a nonprofit that works with families affected by HIV and poverty.
- Students will join the effort to eliminate substandard housing and provide shelter for the homeless with the nonprofit known as Sussex County Habitat for Humanity in Georgetown, Delaware.
- With the help of Sisu Integrated Early Learning — a nonprofit in Gainesville, Georgia — students will advocate for education and literacy to the region’s youth.
- SVSU volunteers will support women both recovering from drug addiction and suffering from mental health disorders at the Nashville organization known as Mending Hearts Inc.
- In St. Louis, students will assist LifeWise STL, a nonprofit that helps in-need individuals and families prosper financially by addressing systemic barriers in society such as racism.
Alternative Breaks is a student-run organization that has organized volunteer efforts during breaks in SVSU’s school scheduling — including the winter break — since 2004.