Spring Break
Reflections
Looking back on ASB Detroit
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: ASB Detroit
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Living near Detroit my whole life, I have always seen it as my home. From the Electronic Music Festival and Country HoeDown to the International Auto Show. And with nationally known sports teams and some of the greatest restaurants and clubs, Detroit has shown that it has great potential.
We all know that Detroit needs a lot of work inside of the city, but we also need to support what it has to offer. Throughout my break, I got to witness how volunteerism and activism can directly affect our citizens. We were able to help so many individuals, including domestically abused women, neglected children, the physically challenged and inner city students who only had a community center to rely on.
I worked at Habitat for Humanity and was able to clear six lots for housing development and preparations for the basement. We also went to a warehouse where we built window and door frames. It was good to know that we would be making a difference in the near future. Someone would have a house soon and would be giving back to the community again.
United Way is launching a new slogan: Live United. I will Live United at my own home. I plan to Live United on campus. I plan to Live United in the community. I plan to Live United for others to see that we care.
I need the University of Michigan - Dearborn and United Way to partner up again (along with Fed Ex, Deloitte, Enterprise, Kroger, Panera Bread, Target and MORE!), not only for next year, but for the years to come. I need as many students in my community to discover and experience what I have gone through. I need all of these sponsors to come together, and I will do my part in helping out.
That being said, I will not let this week fade away. I will do everything that I can to paint my memories across the sidewalks and streets of this University, of the City of Detroit and everywhere that I go, so that others can see that I am a proud product of Alternative Spring Break, and that I plan to Live United.
Stacy Boone
Giving up spring break to volunteer? Ha!
Not at all. Anyone who didn't get to participate in the United Way Alternative Spring Break has no clue what they missed out on.
It's almost impossible to describe how amazing it was. My week was filled with hauling trees, building house frames, arranging stores, picking wood chips out of my hair and meeting wonderful people. All of this came together to create the best spring break ever imaginable.
Realizing the impact that I could have in such a short period of time and knowing that a small amount of people could be the catalysts for such great change is the indescribable part. The organization that my particular group worked with was Habitat for Humanity. I'm particularly grateful for this organization because of the exponential effect that the work of the volunteers can have.
There's a requirement to give a set amount of hours back to the organization once one receives a home, so they can pass the blessing of owning a home on to someone else. As more homes are built and given to families consisting of two or three adults, the amount of houses that can be built is drastically increased.
At the end of week, I realized that I'd been part of something that will have no end; something that caused a magnanimous spirit to rise within all of the participants and onlookers that hopefully remains vibrant and fervent within us in our respective communities; something that I hope we can all use to ignite the same sprit of unity and selflessness in those around us.
I'm certain that I speak for all ASBers when I say that the week in Detroit was nothing short of inspiring and life-altering. We don't feel as though we "gave up" our spring break, we can't imagine anything being more worthy of our time.
Jaci Tindall
My experiences with United Way's Alternative Spring Break-Detroit have given me faith. I see my experiences with ASB as very similar to the life cycle of a butterfly.
A butterfly's story begins at birth. Mine, however, starts out with the desire to apply for a week-long journey of service in an unfamiliar place. I have always been involved in volunteer work, but the thought of contributing to a community with so much potential gripped me.
After applying and being notified that I was accepted, I began my journey to Dearborn, Mich. from Antioch, Ill. On my way to campus, my mind was flooded with doubt and fear. I was on edge about being so far away from home with unfamiliar faces in a place that the media gives such a negative image. I almost bailed. I almost gave up and turned around to go back home.
I'm not sure what it was, but something made me stay. Something had told me I could make an impact here.
From here I became a caterpillar who wouldn't give up on something that she believed in. I started my week with approximately 50 other students who also had hope and courage. We were divided into groups and set off to complete different tasks in the hope of leaving a footprint on the hearts of those we touched.
None of our attempts to make the community a better place would have been possible without the sincere support of our sponsors: United Way, FedEx, Panera Bread, Delloite, Kroger, UM-D - and the list goes on. Without the support of these generous donors we, as caterpillars, could not have transformed into butterflies. Our eyes could not have been opened up to learn about respect, values, appreciation, and love. The sponsors and team staff believed in us enough to put a tremendous amount of time and effort toward ensuring that we had a rewarding experience.
As our week of learning and transformation came to an end, I found myself. I fell in love with the city of Detroit, when I recently had feared it. I knew that although my hometown is a wonderful place, Detroit is where I needed to continue my service.
When I got back home, I realized that I had left my heart in Detroit and applied for admission to the University of Michigan-Dearborn. I am very thankful for this opportunity of a lifetime that inevitably led me to find myself. Like a butterfly, I am going to go where I am needed most and right now that is back in Michigan.
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