Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is Project Volunteer's longest volunteer event of the school year. As the name suggests, Alternative Spring Break is an alternative to the traditional spring break experience. ASB is a substance-free spring break spent volunteering and getting intimate with the issues that define the area in which we live.

     ASB 2005 will take place in the City of Detroit.

     It’s our own backyard. We go to school here. We play here. We are influenced by what happens here.

     Each of our stories have become heavily woven into the fabric of Detroit. We all have a stake in what becomes of it.

     Diversity, crime/blight, art, and city revitalization.

     Participants, site leaders and co-site leaders will be divided into three groups, representing three issues relevant to Detroit today (diversity, crime/blight, art). Though every participant will learn about all four issues throughout the week (Monday is diversity day, etc.), every participant will only volunteer with the issue that their group represents. (For example, if your issue is art, you will volunteer only at the art site throughout the week, though you will learn about all four issues.)

     Diversity: Hunger Action Coalition (HAC) of Michigan. We will be learning about hunger and poverty. We will have opportunity to volunteer with advocacy, as well as package up remnants of a food drive.

     For more information on HAC, visit http://hacmichigan.org .

     Crime/Blight: Motor City Blight Busters (MCBB). Project to be announced. Motor City Blight Busters is an organization that works on housing development, as well as business development in the community. They also focus on using art as a means of city revitalization (e.g., Artist’s Village projects). Past projects with MCBB have included tearing down crack houses, mural painting, and cleaning up old business buildings to make way for occupation of new businesses.

     For more information on MCBB, visit http://www.blightbusters.org/

     Art: People’s Community Services (PCS). We will be producing/performing a play with the children of the Hamtramck Neighborhood Center. Play to be announced.

     For more information on PCS, go to http://pecose.org

     To see pictures of last year’s production "Pinocchio Goes to School", click on "sites" in the left hand column, click on "H.I. Mayson Hamtramck Neighborhood Center", and scroll down to "What’s Special at Mayson".

     We will engage in a variety of reflection activities throughout the week, culminating in group presentations for community, faculty, and friends on that Friday.

     We will be dining at ethnic restaurants in Detroit. Restaurants include Dee Orr’s (Soul Food), and Armando’s (Mexican cuisine), etc.

     During ASB, we will be staying at Fort Street Presbyterian Church. The church has multiple bathrooms, showers facilities, and a fully functional kitchen.

     Everyone participating in ASB must be able to stay for the entire experience. There is no option to volunteer for only a portion of the week, or go home for a few hours during the ASB experience. The living component is essential to building group solidarity and providing a powerful, uninterrupted experience. When on ASB, you are away on spring break.

     The cost for participating in ASB is $50.00 per person. It is all inclusive. However, we are providing opportunities for participants to fund-raise, which could reduce or eliminate their cost altogether.

     You are free to bring any electronic devices you may have. We only ask that you remember that you are solely responsible for these devices, and you must use them only at appropriate times. Further information about this can be provided upon request prior to the event, and will be discussed the first evening of ASB.

     We hope to facilitate a greater appreciation for the City of Detroit. Through volunteer service, learning experiences, and cultural awareness, we hope to dispel many of the negative stereotypes attached to Detroit.

     The most vicious of rumors about Detroit is that it is stagnant in terms of growth and possibility. Our goal is for participants to come away with the awareness of the dynamic nature of our urban core, and recognize what is happening now to shape its future.

     Ultimately, we hope that ASB fosters positive, introspective attitudes about the metropolitan area; from the City of Detroit to the most rural of its suburbs. Through this new breed of perspectives we can overcome prejudices that have held us back from fully enjoying the opportunities this region has to offer.