During spring break 2016, more than two dozen students packed up from Cambridge and traveled south in two groups, to Virginia and North Carolina, where they spent a week volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, Volunteers for Communities and the YMCA or Roanoke.
Students (l to r) Puja Kranze-Howe, Julie Lublin and Jill Tolan finish
a foundation on a home in Asheville.
The recent trips are one manifestation of the nearly 8,000 hours of service that members of the Lesley community are dedicating this year, engaging in work that tackles issues around education, hunger, homelessness, human rights and sustainability.
“I am continually amazed with how much effort and commitment students put into service,” said Sarah Chafe, director of community service. “Our students show passion through their service.”
The students who served on the Alternative Spring Break trips in March fundraised close to $10,000 for the endeavor. The university marked its seventh year of volunteering with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina, and started a new partnership this year with Volunteers for Communities in Roanoke, VA.
During the Asheville trip, guided by student leaders Anaelle Seide (’18) and Shelby Majure (’16), 11 students worked with Habitat on construction projects for a neighborhood in East Asheville. Students assisted with constructing the roof on two homes, installing insulation, painting exteriors, and laying a foundation for a new home.
Students (l to r) Linda DaSilva, Emma Chavenson, Kaelyn Anderson,
Hana Henshaw, Rocky Cotard and Rachel DiGangi peel
potatoes at the Rescue Mission in Roanoke.
“The trip is not about saving people, it's about creating a unique, mutual human experience between the two communities,” noted Chafe, a Lesley alumna who graduated in 2011 with a degree in early childhood education. “Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity gave our students a chance to meet with a partner family, a single mother and her two children, who will be moving into their home by October.”
Students Kaelyn Anderson (’18) and Linda DaSilva (’17) led the Roanoke trip, where 14 students participated in a variety of projects with Volunteers for Communities and the YMCA of Roanoke, such as renewing community gardens and playgrounds, organizing charitable organizations’ thrift stores and kitchens, cleaning up a river, working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (a nonprofit home improvement store and donation center), and painting a mural.
“My week in Roanoke taught me to challenge myself and become a leader in ways that I never thought possible,” reflected student Hannah Sycks (’17). “It is beyond words the importance of stepping outside of your comfort zone and not only seeing other communities, but placing yourself in a global context.”
Student volunteers (l to r) Emma Callender, Adriana
Hernandez and Andrea Pernokas shingle a
roof in Asheville.
Other students echoed the profound personal growth that their service work has fostered.
“I really found myself through Alternative Spring Break and other Office of Community Service trips,” said Seide, a leader of the Asheville trip. “And the best part about returning on these trips is seeing and helping others grow and find themselves through service and find a home in the Office of Community Service like I did.”
The Office of Community Service’s programs and outreach focus on creating long-lasting community relationships, which the students wholly embrace, Chafe said.
“These trips have a lifelong impact,” she said.
Added Sycks, “The trip provided opportunities for lasting friendships and memories that truly are priceless."