UWM freshman RaeAnn Hovendick came back from her spring break trip a little different, but it wasn’t the suntan.
She and a group of UWM students traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, for the alternative spring break trip run by UWM’s Center for Community Based Learning, Leadership and Research (CCBLLR). While there, they volunteered with organizations specializing in hunger relief, environmental education, and assisting youth, military veterans and homeless women.
“The trip re-energizes students to engage in service,” said Nicole Glaser, director of CCBLLR and organizer of the trip. It’s the fourth consecutive year UWM students have spent spring break volunteering in Asheville’s corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Hovendick worked at several sites, including the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s (ABCCM) Veterans Restoration Quarters. It’s a residential program that provides housing and support for homeless veterans who served in conflicts as far back as the Vietnam War.
“The whole trip just opened my eyes,” Hovendick said. She and fellow volunteers tilled a garden and repainted buildings, among other things. “We wish they could come back every week,” said Joyce Pemberton, ABCCM volunteer coordinator. One day during lunch, a veteran sat with Hovendick and shared his touching life story. “It was an amazing experience,” she said.
In addition to their work with veterans, students also volunteered at the Black Mountain Home for Children, the Steadfast House for homeless women, Manna FoodBank, as well as the Long Branch Environmental Education Center, where students planted blueberry bushes.
And during their downtime, students soaked up other aspects of local culture. A trip to Warren Wilson College included some contra dancing, which Glaser described as similar to square dancing, except participants are arranged in rows.
Some students returned to UWM with new goals for their own education. One student told Glaser that he wanted to add a conservation science minor to his studies, while an engineering major told her she now planned to work on renewable energy.
As for Hovendick, she returned with new ideas on how to replicate her spring break volunteer experiences in the Milwaukee community. She also came back with plenty of new friends.
“I’ve never been around so many like-minded people,” Hovendick said.
