Alternative Weekends kicks off with mass meeting tonight

Students interested in participating in Alternative Weekends, can learn more about the community service program at a mass meeting tonight at 5 p.m. in Aud. 2 of the Modern Languages Building.

Alternative Weekends is a branch of Project SERVE's Alternative Breaks program, which also organizes Alternative Spring Break.

"One of the goals of Alternative Weekends is to focus on the local communities," said David Waterhouse, co-director of Project SERVE. "We do a lot of volunteer work in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit."

For eight years, Project SERVE, the University's on-campus community service organization, has been leading community service trips to sites across the country, through their popular spring break program.

Through this program, participants can spend a week working with AIDS patients in New York, helping Haitian refugees in Miami, or volunteering for the United Farm Workers Union in San Juan.

For those not willing to commit their entire spring vacation to community service, Project SERVE offers the Alternative Weekends program, in which students spend three to four weekends per semester volunteering at sites throughout the Midwest.

Tonight's mass meeting will kick off the sixth year of the program, which in the past had sites at a camp for the disabled in Greenville, Michigan and a program in Detroit that assists elderly people.

This year, the program will expand to include sites in Chicago and Ohio. More than 200 students participated last year, and program organizers say that number could double this year.

Alternative Weekends was formed in 1992 by students who had participated in Alternative Spring Break and wanted a more localized program that would allow them to volunteer throughout the school year.

Unlike Alternative Spring Break, which requires a year-long commitment, participants in Alternative Weekends volunteer their time on a per-semester basis. Volunteers are grouped into teams of about 12 people.

Each team focuses on a specific site for the entire semester, and team members are expected to attend all of the monthly site visits. In addition, participants attend bi-weekly meetings to plan upcoming trips. Each volunteer is also expected to raise $100 for their site.

"One of the great things about Alternative Weekends is the total immersion of the volunteers at a single sight," said Greg Garza, an Engineering sophomore who has participated in both Alternative Weekends and Alternative Spring Break. "Alternative Weekends actually builds better bonds between people than Alternative Spring Break because you work with the same people every month."

"The program allows students to get out of Ann Arbor for a while and experience the rest of the world," said LSA sophomore Kenny Miller, who volunteered last year with Project Save, a program that assists the elderly in Detroit.

"I loved talking to the elderly," Miller said. "They always had great stories. You gain strong relationships working with Alternative Weekends."

As the program continues to expand, organizers are looking to involve more members of the University community.

"We are trying to get as many people involved as possible, including graduate students and teachers," said LSA junior Jen Fahner, a member of the Alternative Weekends leadership team.

You can contact Project SERVE at serveitup@umich.edu.

09-15-98