It’s only been a week and a half, and spring break seems like forever ago. Reminiscing on a week-long break that just occurred seems silly, but it’s justified if you had the time of your life. In Winder, Georgia, working with the Barrow County Habitat for Humanity as an Alternative Spring Break participant, I think I can say that I did. Here’s what happened on my trip:
Along the course of the trip we faced some challenges. For starters, we got stuck in Paducah, Kentucky, for seven hours due to a bus malfunction. However, don’t let this traveling problem scare you from wanting to do something like this. It was over these seven hours that we explored a new state and new group of people that would basically become a family. I never thought getting trapped in Kentucky would be fun, but somehow we managed to make it happen with scavenger hunts, Taco Bell runs and lots of brain games.
A man even pulled off of the side of the road and bought us 15 large pizzas. Southern hospitality is a very real thing my friends. Here’s us thanking him for his kind gesture.
Once in Georgia (many hours later), we worked on a Habitat home and even worked on transforming a middle school into a community center. Here’s how Melonie Clark, the volunteer services coordinator, described our service with them for the week:
“The honors students from Illinois State University spent their spring break with Barrow County Habitat for Humanity for the 3rd year in a row. This year we completed the landscaping at our current build and then teamed up with the Winder Housing Authority to help paint the old Winder-Barrow Middle School that will become the Wimberly Community Center. We also hosted our first ever RV Care-A-Vanners! Care-A-Vanners travel around the country helping out Habitats along the way. They’ve been a tremendous help to us in supervising the volunteers and ensuring their safety.”
Along with working with Habitat we also did service for Camp Twin Lakes, which was where we were staying for the week. This camp hosts a variety of programs for students with special needs. Whether it was painting an outdoor pavilion, repairing and riding bikes or even spreading sand on their volleyball court, we got the camp ready for hundreds of campers this upcoming summer.
Not the traditional spring break, no, but it was a special one. If you’re thinking about going on an Alternative Spring Break trip of any sort, my advice is to do it. If you’re on the edge about it, jump right off that cliff and into the unknown waters. If it’s resting in the back of your mind as an unaddressed thought, please, bring it to the forefront and tackle that desire. Illinois State University offers so many hands on opportunities for students to get involved in the world. You don’t want these things to pass you by. Plus, we had bonfires every night that included s’mores, story telling, and so many laughs. Our free “fun” day (as if every day weren’t fun) included taking on the ride of a giant swing, climbing a 40-foot rock wall in the middle of the woods, bike rides, fishing, kayaking, and even archery. Let’s just say, feeling like Katniss for a day with a bow and arrow was totally worth it.