KU students travel to Arkansas for Alternative Spring Break
LAWRENCE — This March, University of Kansas students spent their spring break traveling and volunteering with Alternative Breaks. Established in 1995, KU Alternative Breaks is a student organization that “provides immersive volunteer experiences that educate students and foster a lifelong commitment to service.”
Eleven students traveled to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to serve with Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a big cat animal sanctuary and public education organization. Student volunteers supported maintenance and cleanup of enclosures, created keychains from spent enrichment toys and made KU-themed enrichment toys for the big cats to use.
The students also explored Eureka Springs, including the nearby Cosmic Cavern, and stopped by the famous Lambert’s Cafe on their way back to Lawrence.
"The service I completed at Turpentine Creek was incredibly organized, and it was easy to see the impact of our work. The type of work we completed allowed us to learn about the animals, and the staff were there to answer any questions we had,” said Bella Wade, a spring break participant. “My two favorite activities were rock pickup, as many of the rocks we cleaned up had fossils hidden inside, and making the KU-themed enrichment toys, which were we able to watch get distributed to the animals."
Alternative Breaks is a student-led program funded by Student Senate and is also often supported by university programs such as Hawk Link, the Center for Educational Opportunity Programs and more. To earn course credit for the break experience, AB participants have the option to enroll in UNIV 492, a special projects course taught by the Center for Service Learning.
Alternative Breaks is currently accepting applications for paid and volunteer leadership positions for next year, including in the areas of public relations, finance and trip planning. Paid positions (application deadline March 30) can be found on the KU Employment website under the “student jobs” category by searching “Student Senate.” Volunteer positions (application deadline April 11) can be applied for through this brief application form.