Students and community service

Next week is spring break and while there's nothing at all wrong with saddling up with friends and heading to a beach to relax, it should be acknowledged that many students will choose to use the week off in a different way:

A group of 360 University of Georgia students will forego typical spring break trips like the beach and amusement parks to spend the week of March 9 participating in nearly 14,000 hours of community service work at 19 sites across the U.S.

The students have signed on for IMPACT, a program that offers substance-free, experiential service-learning projects and encourages an understanding of pressing societal issues. Students perform short-term projects for community agencies and learn about social justice issues, including homelessness and poverty, children's wellbeing, affordable housing and construction, human rights, environmental topics, animal advocacy, Native American culture, disability awareness and HIV/AIDS awareness.

See the link for a complete list of spring break trips and what students will be doing. Many of our students initiate their own public and community service awareness by contributing time and getting involved in projects while in high school. It's great to see them continue to discover the power of helping people. Selflessness bodes well for their our the future.