Winter break—usually a time for college students to regroup and recharge before the spring semester—has a unique value for a group of 45 Sacramento State students who want to make a positive difference in local communities.
Alternative Break is a week-long event, beginning Jan. 21, in which students perform community-based service projects on a volunteer basis. The week’s schedule of activities includes:
• Monday, Jan. 21: Hands on Sacramento-King Day of Service—students will work on a campus beautification project at Martin Luther King Middle School
• Tuesday, Jan. 22: Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services—students will help create a community garden
• Wednesday, Jan. 23: Sacramento Tree Foundation—students will plant trees with the Sacramento Tree Foundation at Granite Community Park
• Thursday, Jan. 24 and Friday, Jan. 25: Habitat for Humanity of Sacramento
“Alternative Break is a short-term commitment with long-term benefits,” says Brendan McVeigh, community partnerships coordinator at Sacramento State’s Community Engagement Center. “Students can volunteer one day or all week, depending on their preference. The service projects are all locally based, so the students are making a real difference in the community.”
“It’s really nice to have a program like Alternative Break that makes it so easy and fun to get involved and volunteer,” says volunteer Damara Miller, a senior in International Business. “I decided to participate in Alternative Break because I enjoy helping people and being active in the community.”
Alternative Break is a collaborative project sponsored by Sacramento State’s Community Engagement Center, Students Activities, and Alcohol Education Program.
For more information, contact the Community Engagement Center at (916) 278-4610 or visit
www.csus.edu/cec/Alt_Break.stm. For media assistance, contact Sacramento State’s Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156.
