Springtime means spring break for
students across the country, and for Food & Friends, it means fantastic
groups of student volunteers! This year we had 15 different spring break groups
representing a wide range of schools and student organizations. The unifying
factor? The desire to learn about the challenges facing our communities and how
they, as future leaders, can make a positive impact.
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| Students from around the world through American Councils |
We were particularly excited to host the American Councils for International
Education, an exchange organization that brings students from around the
world to live in the U.S. for a year of learning both in and out of the classroom.
The students who visited us came from all over, including Indonesia, Cameroon,
Moldova, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines. While many of their countries
have been war torn, the students had come to the U.S. with the goal of learning
community service-based lessons that they could bring back to their home
nations.
Closer to home, a group from Georgetown University’s Alternative Break
focused on the themes of hunger, homelessness, and intersecting issues in and
around DC. They sought out Food & Friends for first hand insight into how
health and illness factor in these broader problems.
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| Students from NYU volunteered with us all week! |
Each student group’s volunteer
experience is unique and tailored to their needs and interests. Some of our
groups this year made a sustained commitment by working with us for the entire
week, such as
New York
University’s LGBTQ Student Group and SUNY Purchase College. Others, like those
from East Tennessee State, DePaul University, and High Point University, drove over 9 hours
in school vans to participate in a variety of community service opportunities
in our nation’s capital, including here at Food & Friends. The Ohio State “Buck-I-Serve” group comes
every year for spring and winter break, and we were happy to welcome them back
again this year!
The Food & Friends Service Learning Program allows
students to gain valuable knowledge and see, first-hand, how their service
impacts the lives of children and adults facing life-challenging illnesses as
well as gain important perspective on issues such as HIV/AIDS and nutrition. If
you like to learn more about bringing a student group to Food & Friends, go
HERE!
