The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alternative Spring Break is students’ chance to serve
While many students headed off to the beach or family vacations for spring break, some local college students used their downtime to help others with their Alternative Spring Break program hosted by the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The Alternative Spring Break was open to local Atlanta-area college students, and the three-day session included volunteer opportunities, educational tours of local resources and group studies on local programs and meet-and-greets with individuals who are making strides to be part of the solution.
This year, the Food Bank hosted its Alternative Spring Break on March 12-14 with 14 participants from Clark Atlanta University, Gwinnett Technical College, Morehouse College and Spelman College.
Jasmine Payne, advocacy and education specialist, brought the idea to the food bank after her own personal experience in college.
“While attending Spelman College, I started an in-town alternative spring break for students to get to know their community better and to explore how we can more deeply get engaged right where we are. It was an effort to break the ‘us’ and ‘them’ paradigm,” said Payne.
During the week, college students volunteered at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, as well as partner agency Southwest Ecumenical Emergency Assistance Center.
The participants took a tour of community gardens and food resources, compared resources of grocery stores in different communities and lobbied at the Georgia State Capitol. Additionally, each meal they were given was sourced from local restaurants such as Just Add Honey, Gourmet Express and Mediterranean Grill.
“The biggest takeaway from this experience is that people really need help. Alternative Spring Break made me more willing to help others whether they need food, clothes, money, etc. because in a lot of those cases, there are children who are in need of those things,” said Erica Hale, a student at Clark Atlanta University. “If roles were revised I would want someone to help me, so that is why now I know how important it is to help others.”