With their bags packed, classes on hold and time off from part-time campus jobs, many MSU students are gearing up for spring break.

Some students, however, are not imagining the typical hedonistic escapades of their peers. For them, the week off is an opportunity to perform volunteer work at sites around the world.

A healthy alternative

"We provide an alternative, like our name says, for kids who want to do something different than the typical Cancun-style spring break," said marketing junior Katherine Greenup, tri-chair of MSU's Alternative Spring Break.

Alternative Spring Break, or ASB, offers 19 trips to locations throughout the country, as well as internationally.

Journalism senior Jon Erickson is preparing to take his third trip through ASB as a site leader for a trip to Asheville, N.C. Volunteers at the Asheville site will be working to build and improve homes for residents in need.

One project will be to build a ramp for a woman in a wheelchair to help her get into her house, Erickson said.

Erickson became involved in ASB when he wanted to take a trip for spring break but found the typical excursions unsatisfactory. During the semester, there is little free time to volunteer, he said, which is why he chose to volunteer through ASB.

"That was my way to give some sort of service when I have some extra hours," Erickson said.

Although Erickson went to Asheville to volunteer, the friends he made are another benefit.

"The service was the core reason (I went), but why I kept doing it was the people I met while I was involved," Erickson said.

Spiritual intervention

Several churches and religious organizations also offer volunteer trips for students during spring break.

St. John Student Parish, 327 M.A.C. Ave., offers six trips this year, with 85 students volunteering to serve.

Steve Wolbert, director of student activities for St. John's, said the programs provide service as well as acknowledge spirituality.

"Social justice issues are something that's at the forefront of our parish," he said.

Each night during the trip, the groups meets for a reflection on the day's work and how it impacted them.

"The entire experience is religion-based, whether you realize it or not," Wolbert said.

Social work graduate student Marisa Saltzman, who is program director for the MSU Hillel Jewish Student Community Center, 360 Charles St., helped to organize a group trip to Uruguay this year. The program is called Jewish Alternative Breaks, or JABs.

Volunteers will be working in several service areas, including building homes for underprivileged families and volunteering in a Jewish retirement home.

She agreed that even though the experience has ties, what is important is the volunteer activities.

"We like helping our fellow Jews, but we find great pleasure in helping the world in general," Saltzman said.

The price of volunteering

Programs range from $250 to $1,300 per student, depending on the trip. Prices generally include travel, lodging and food for the duration of the program.

"It just depends on how far people want to go," Greenup said, adding that the international programs are more expensive because of travel fees.

Students pay for trips with the help of fundraising efforts, grants and scholarships.

Participants in JABs receive money from the ASMSU funding board, as well as the Michigan Hillel Consortium and through fundraising, Saltzman said.

Students from St. John receive some money from scholarships as well as from the parish, but also participate in fundraising programs like selling poinsettias or Fair Trade coffee, "which is another great social justice issue," Wolbert said.

"A lot of people see it as you're paying to work for a week, but you're paying to travel, you're paying to meet people," Greenup said.