Spring break more than just vacation
Courtesy of FIONA POON
Students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break program had the option of volunteering at Dorothy’s Place, a homeless shelter in Salinas County.
By Sarah Ravani
March 30, 2010 9:07 p.m.
For the first time in two years, student volunteers had the opportunity to participate in an Alternative Spring Break, a program held by the undergraduate student government’s Community Service Commission.
The program allows students to leave UCLA’s campus to participate in community service in the area while bonding with other students and those outside the UCLA community, said Farhan Banani, Undergraduate Students Association Council community service commissioner.
This year, registered students had the choice of signing up for two different activities. Students could either work with Habitat for Humanity for a day at one of the reconstruction sites or at Dorothy’s Place, a homeless shelter in Salinas County.
“When people beg on the streets, you don’t really pay attention to them, but when you interact with them, you see the issues they deal with in real life,” said Fiona Poon, co-external program director. “All the people we talked to were so excited we were from UCLA because it’s so far away.”
Students who volunteered to work with Habitat for Humanity drove to a housing complex in the Inglewood area where they helped with termite control, painted and cleaned houses and did yard work.
According to student volunteer Allen Secretov, Habitat for Humanity rebuilds and refurnishes homes while trying to maintain the cheaper cost of the home so it will be accessible for low-income families. By volunteering on the site, Secretov said he had the opportunity to meet friendly people, while learning how to do basic contracting and constructing work.
“Helping out the community is something I really love to do,” Secretov said. “You feel better when you give to another person.”
The remaining students who chose to work in Salinas County helped out by preparing 300 sandwiches for lunch, cooking dinner, and cleaning and sanitizing mats used by homeless women for overnight stays. Participants also cleaned bathrooms, washed pots and pans, and sanitized other areas of the shelter before leaving that night, Poon said.
Janet Marsh, communications facilitator for Dorothy’s Place, said she encourages students to come back.
“I think it gives them an eye-opening experience about what society is really like,” Marsh said. “Often times, younger people don’t realize what’s happening in society and when they can come and work one-on-one with people in society who need help, it makes them have an admiration for what they have.”
Poon, a third-year linguistics and psychology student, said it was a rewarding experience and students were able to interact with other people, including the homeless who were grateful for the help they received from UCLA students. She said it was interesting to interact with the homeless and to hear their stories.
The Community Service Committee wants to bring Alternative Spring Break back as a campus tradition. Banani said he hopes next year UCLA can take it to an international level and have students go somewhere outside California.
“This is a great opportunity to take a trip at a low cost and actually do some good for people and meet other UCLA students,” Banani said. “We have a lot of good data and information to present to next year’s committee so they can do something bigger and better.”
