KU Students Choose 'Alternative Spring Break'

It doesn’t take long to make a difference. Student volunteers from the University of Kansas may have only been in Evansville from March 17-25, but the impact they left is tangible. 

Alternative Breaks is a student-run service-learning organization operated by a group of undergraduate students at KU.  For 23 years, they have provided students with hands-on service learning and volunteer opportunities in the community, as well as across the nation. They offer annual volunteer trips for approximately 800 students, serving over 50 volunteer organizations, as well as a class component where students research topics such as identities and privilege, active citizenship, ethical volunteering and other facets of volunteerism. 

This is the third year Alternative Breaks sent volunteers to assist at Evansville’s Ark Crisis Child Care.The student volunteers found time each evening to experience the sights of Evansville while staying at accommodations provided by Holy Rosary Parish at Nativity Church. The parish provided the students from the Sunflower State with sleeping and showering facilities at Nativity, and an area for students to prepare simple meals. 

Ali Norder, a student leader for the Alternative Break group, said the accommodations were perfect and the group enjoyed local attractions such as Honey Moon Cafe, Thunderbolts hockey and bowling. She said that they appreciated the generosity of Holy Rosary providing the facilities, and they hope that KU continues to visit Evansville for future Alternative Spring Break trips. 

During their time in Vanderburgh County, the volunteers provided a service that staff members at Ark Crisis Child Care say they truly appreciate. 

“They help in the classrooms, which of course the students love,” said Samantha Rainey, Marketing and Development Specialist at the childcare center. “But they also help organize areas of the center, tasks that the staff just does not have the time to get to normally.” 

The students anxiously awaited the arrival of the volunteers each day, greeting them with great enthusiasm. “Are my friends coming back?” asked one four-year-old from the pre-kindergarten room. 

Ark Crisis Child Care Center's mission is to keep children safe and strengthen families in times of stress. Its goal is to protect children from abuse and neglect by providing a safe place for children, and a resource for parents and caregivers to help them reduce the stress in their lives. Staff members  believe that when family stress is reduced, children are less likely to be abused or neglected. 

“We may see a child one time, or on and off through their sixth birthday,” Rainey said. “Our goal is to keep them safe.”