As March is quickly approaching, students in Dayton are planning for their spring break. Some students travel far and wide, some stay close to home to spend time with family, and some just take it easy with their friends. But there is a new option available to students in the form of an alternative spring break.
An alternative spring break is an opportunity for students to assist their community whilst gaining a deeper understanding of the people within.
“[The students] begin to get a sense of the humanity of every person, no matter what gender, race, or age they are,” says David Bodary, a communications professor at Sinclair.
Many options for these public service projects can also relate back to a student’s field of study, which can benefit them directly.
An example could be a student studying sociology who can interact with the types of people they are studying, to gain a further understanding of their lives.
A student can further understand a sociological concept such as a food desert, which is an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food, if they are actually out in the community where they can see the real-world effect the lack of nearby stores that produce fresh food has.
Service projects can be a range of different activities. For example, a previous project involved cleaning up at Five Rivers MetroParks. The activities involved were not necessarily huge undertakings, but they are small necessities that benefit the community overall.
“It might be as simple as emptying out the bird houses”, said Bodary.
Emptying out a bird house ends up being very important in the long run because a blue bird does not make a nest where another nest once was, which means if the house is never emptied, the birds will not come back.
Another activity is called Project Read, where books are sorted before being donated to children that may not have books in their home. Although sorting books seems to be a small task, it can make a big difference in someone’s life.
Wild Hearts African Farm & Petting Zoo in Lewisburg Ohio, is a place where many kinds of animals are kept and taken care of. Something as small as cleaning an animal’s cage can have a big impact on the zoo and the community itself. This would also be a useful project for a student involved in animal studies such as veterinary science.
“It’s pretty tough to get into vet school, but one of the ways you can improve your chances is if you have experience working with animals, and this would be one of the ways people could gain some of that experience,” said Bodary.
Since the service is not long term, there are not many requirements to get involved, although each case is different. A background check may be needed if the service involves children, for example.
With a number of different volunteer opportunities in the area, students are likely to find one accessible to them.
To get involved with a project, students can talk to Bodary directly. He is holding a Sinclair Talks presentation on Feb. 27 that will include more detail about the alternative spring break.
Sean Kahle
Reporter