Alternative fall break provides a way to give back
This fall break, 10 students traveled to Johns Island, South Carolina, in order to assist in building a house as an alternative fall break for Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. The group left Wednesday at 8 p.m. and arrived back on campus late Saturday afternoon.
Sea Island Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization whose mission is to build homes, communities and hope. Sea Island Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes, advocating for fair and just housing policies and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.
This year’s trip leader was third-year public relations student Christina Campigotto.
“I went to Bayville, New Jersey, for spring break last year to do [Hurricane] Sandy Relief. I really enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun, so I filled out the application and decided to take the challenge of becoming a trip leader,” Campigotto said in an email.
As a trip leader, she was able to choose her group based on their anonymous applications. Forty applications were submitted and 10 were accepted for the alternative fall break on Johns Island.
“My expectations for this trip are to have fun as well as encourage my group to become more active in service and take the extra step to become involved in service themselves. I also hope they will be more aware of situations like homelessness,” Campigotto said.
Upon the group's arrival, Campigotto was happy to say that all of her expectations of the students had been met.
“One of my favorite parts was seeing how enthusiastic my group was to help. They always jumped on the job that needed to be done, and they worked hard the entire time. There was also one day when some of us nailed roof paper ... and it was such an amazing feeling to literally help put a roof over someone’s head,” Campigotto said.
This is also a great way for students to obtain community service hours. Students who participate in alternative fall break can receive up to 20 service hours, and those who participate in winter and spring alternative breaks can receive up to 40 hours.
Alternative break has offered trips for fall, winter and spring breaks. The applications for winter break are already up on the Student Affairs website. These upcoming trips will be Dec. 15 to 20 and include Animal Welfare: Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and Children's Health: Give Kids the World in Kissimmee, Florida.
“It would be awesome if we can make it possible for more students to be able to participate in alternative breaks because they are a great experience. It allows students to see the world in a different light, and I think it encourages them to be more involved in helping communities,” Campigotto said.