This week many Scripps students are forgoing the typical traditions of Spring Break—beach parties, home cooking, sleeping in. Instead, they are traveling to the Gulf Coast region devastated by hurricanes last fall to volunteer their time and hard work.
Across the campuses of The Claremont Colleges, students are partaking in relief-effort trips to the region coordinated by student organizations.
The student club Hillel, a center for Jewish life and activities at The Claremont Colleges, organized one such trip. Claremont Hillel and Hillel International, based in Washington, D.C. partnered to coordinate the volunteer effort. Claremont Hillel provided the lion’s share of the trips costs with additional funding pending from private donors and the Los Angeles Hillel Council. Each participant contributed $125 toward expenses and purchased his or her own airfare.
Any student from The Claremont Colleges was eligible to participate. Students are traveling to Orange Grove, Mississippi, from March 12 until 19. Rabbi Leslie Bergson, Jewish chaplain and Hillel director at The Claremont Colleges, is working with the student volunteers to repair roofs of damaged homes. In Mississippi, the students joined other Hillel volunteers from around the country.
A Harvey Mudd College student organization, Mudders Making a Difference (MMAD) and the Scripps Associated Students (SAS) Environment and Community Service Committee organized a second spring break trip.
Both MMAD and SAS determined to raise enough money to allow Claremont volunteers to attend the trip free-of-charge and asked volunteers to raise an initial $100 each. MMAD urged participants to get creative in their fundraising techniques; suggestions ranged from selling baked goods to washing cars to throwing a “Give Me 10 Dollars” party. SAS leaders lead a campus-wide fundraising effort, calling for donations from students, staff, and faculty members to help send students to the Gulf Coast.
A relief-based program called “Katrina on the Ground” is hosting volunteers in the Gulf Coast region. This leaves airfare, food, and incidental expenses as the only trip costs for volunteers. Approximately 35 students signed up to volunteer during spring break.
Volunteers from both spring break trips may return to campus exhausted. However, after the fatigue fades, the students no doubt will enjoy a sense of pride and accomplishment for having contributed to a noble cause and helped countless Gulf Coast residents.