Students plan good deeds for spring break

This spring break, 36 ECU students will forgo the cruises, beaches and parties in order to participate in the Volunteer and Service Learning Center’s 2010 TRIPS Program.

TRIPS, which stands for Turning Responsibility into Powerful Service, involves ECU students traveling to out-of-town locations to aid with disaster relief efforts. This year, students will be heading to Carteret County and Atlanta.

In Carteret County, students will be staying at Camp Albemarle and will be engaged in efforts to help with environmental damage resulting from natural disasters. The service projects for the Carteret site will include bagging oyster shells, aquarium work and general cleanup.

Students who travel to Atlanta will be involved in a large group effort, which includes several other schools from across the country, to remedy the long-term effects of flood waters. Students will also help with donation sorting and food services in the Atlanta community.

Mike Loeffelman, volunteer coordinator for the VSLC, stressed the importance of disaster relief efforts such as ECU’s service trips because, “Disaster relief does not happen overnight. It takes months, it takes years to recover from a disaster.” Loeffelman stated, “ECU students have privileges that other people don’t have. We take these privileges for granted; for example, food, shelter, education and a support system.”

So far, the VSLC has received 18 applications for the 36 available spots. The trips do cost money, but only $120, which includes food, lodging and transportation. Loeffelman stated that he hopes to have the cost down to $100 soon because of the financial struggles many college students are facing. Volunteers will also complete approximately 30-40 hours of volunteer service during the week.

Loeffelman stated the VSCL has been working with other organizations on campus, such as the Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement and Student Affairs to help train the site leaders, who are also ECU students, and educating the volunteers.

According to Loeffelman, TRIPS began in 2005 and has usually generated positive feedback from students who have participated in the past. “Students love the experience and it really reaffirms their commitment to service,” he said. “The service sites also appreciate the mass amount of work in a short period of time.”

The VSLC has also implemented five main learning objectives to be accomplished by the end of the trip. Among them are that students will become more aware of the needs of their community and that students will feel more comfortable working with people who have different life experiences.
Loeffelman emphasizes that the purpose of TRIPS is to show students that they have a responsibility to their communities. “There are so many things students can do over spring break. They can go to the beach, visit family, take adventure trips and they can serve.”

For those who are interested in participating in the VSLC’s TRIPS program, the application is located on the center’s Web site, www.ecu.edu/VSLC. The deadline for applications is this Friday, Feb. 5. Students will be notified if they’ve been accepted to participate by Feb. 7. Students who have additional questions about the TRIPS program can contact Mike Loeffelman at LoeffelmanM@ecu.edu.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.