On the evenings of Nov. 13 and 14, students filled the GSU Backcourt for the BU Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Information Fair. Manned with trifolds, stickers and even candy, coordinators from all 39 trips shared the details about their destinations. ASB, a program in which students use their spring break to volunteer for several causes and issues “promotes community service, develops leadership skills, and creates strong bonds among its participants” according to the BU ASB website.
Last year, over 300 BU volunteers traveled to 37 different destinations. This year, with the addition of two more trips to Hartford, Conn. and Boston, PR/Advertising Chair Miles Greene (CAS ’13) thinks there is even more for BU students to look forward to through ASB.
“[The Boston trip] gives people the opportunity to really get connections with community service and community activism right in our backyard,” said Greene. “A lot of these [students] have gone to school here for years and haven’t really seen what makes these neighborhoods so special– that’s one of the big things we’re excited about.”
Program Manager Alys McAlpine (SMG ’13) says that a special aspect of the closer-to-home trips is that they are “fusion trips” where volunteers go to a different location in Boston or Hartford every day pertaining to different issues.
“I think [fusion trips are] really neat for people who don’t really know what they want to volunteer in or haven’t volunteered before– it gives them a really broad view of volunteering for the week,” McAlpine said.
ASB is also changing their registration process to better suit BU students.
“Last year our registration system completely crashed and everybody was really pissed off,” Greene said.
In order to avoid another issue this year, ASB is using Eventbrite to coordinate sign-ups that will take place on Dec. 1 at 8 a.m. McAlpine also notes that registration is earlier in the school year than it was last year in order to promote a closer group community before the trip.
Relationships are an important aspect of ASB. Kaela Asharin, (COM ’14) who has attended two affordable-housing based trips to Cranks, Kentucky and Macon, Georgia says that through her experiences with ASB, she’s been inspired by not only the BU faculty and students who attend, but the local residents she helped as well. She still keeps contact with her ASB groups and those she met in Kentucky and Georgia today.
“The areas we volunteered in were so different; it was an immense culture shock,” said Asharin. “But despite these people having next to nothing, they were so positive and thankful for the work we did for them. They still had so much pride in themselves and their community –some of these communities didn’t even have phone service.”
Asharin describes her trips as “both a humbling experience and rewarding experience in one.”
“I don’t think people realize how good they have it until they’re thrown into a community like the ones on ASB trips,” said Asharin. “The first night we were in Kentucky I remember complaining because where we were staying was extremely run down and only had cold water. The next morning, we went to the house we were volunteering at and they didn’t even have a functioning kitchen.”
Asharin “cannot put into words” how rewarding her ASB experiences have been and always recommends community service in general to her peers, saying that it’s important to give back in even the littlest of ways. Spots are limited for ASB trips, but she wishes that everyone who wanted to go on a trip could.
“There are so many places in the US that need our help and so many students at BU willing to help,” Asharin said.
McAlpine encourages students to learn more about the ASB program at BU, whose office is located on the fourth floor of the GSU.
“It’s a week of our year that we choose what we want to do with,” said McAlpine. “Everyone has a lot of options between going home and resting or seeing friends or planning their own trips, but I think ASB has proved to be really worthwhile to people.”
This year’s spring break runs from March 9 to 17. Interested in volunteering? Click here to view all 39 ASB trips, and don’t forget to wake up before 8 a.m. on Dec. 1 to register! Trips run in cost from $200 to $900 depending on your mode of transportation– scholarships are available to those who are eligible. Still need to be convinced? Read a Quad staff member’s experience from last year.
