Miami University

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Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
(513) 529-7592
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Miami students make a difference through spring break service trips

03/11/2013

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Some Miami University students plan to make a difference by participating in service trips or learning about public service during their spring break, March 10-16.

STAYcation: Close to home, a group of students will work with the Center for Civic Engagement at Miami University Hamilton in the annual STAYcation spring break alternative, March 11-14. Participants will work with a variety of local organizations such as United Way, YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Open Door Pantry and Butler County Historical Society to learn about the issues facing Hamilton and how to address them.

Ambassadors for Children - Service Learning in Belize and Colombia: Ambassadors For Children (AFC) will send 20 education majors to Belize to assist students and teachers in impoverished towns. Activities include helping children prepare for national exams, conducting reading hours at local libraries, running a wellness day at a local clinic and holding nightly ESL tutoring sessions.

Students traveling to Cartagena, Colombia, will work in local preschools and hospitals.

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) will send 30 students to Atlanta, Ga., to volunteer with Dekalb Memorial Park, Chastain Memorial Park and Atlanta Community Food Bank. Students will work with Books for Africa to collect, sort and pack books donated for libraries and classrooms in African countries.

Miami Hamilton student volunteers Danny Lakes, Katrice Crater and Susan Runnion organize donated medicines during their alternative spring break STAYcation (2011).

“Alternative Spring Break 2013: Border and Immigration Issues” organized by the Campus Ministry Center and Miami Hillel for 19 students who will travel to Tucson, Ariz., to learn about border, immigration and multicultural education issues. Students will work with volunteers and activists from humanitarian groups working to help migrants in the Sonoran desert and advocating for comprehensive and humane border and immigration policies.

Government Relations Network: Twenty-five students will meet with state and federal legislative officials and their staffs in Columbus and Washington, D.C. Some students will present research posters, and they will all network with Miami alumni.