Annual Alternative Spring Break

    With Spring Break coming up fast, so too is Concord University’s alternative Spring Break trip. This year, the group will once again be traveling to Asheville, North Carolina. “I’m not sure exactly what we’re going to be doing this year,” said Hannah Finkey, organizer of the trip, “But we always do some sort of service. We stay with the Blueridge Assembly, they work with the YMCA down there.”

    For the past few years, Concord has been working with the Timothy Project, an organization connecting college campuses and other groups looking to do community service and helping to organize the community service. Last year, students on the alternative Spring Break trip worked with the Asheville GreenWorks to assist with river cleanup by helping to clear out invasive plant species, and Finkey said that although there is not yet a set itinerary, this year they are hoping to work with the homeless or with a food pantry.

    “There’s sight-seeing in Asheville too,” Finkey said, “Honestly we always have a really great time.” The alternative Spring Break trip is open to all Concord Students, however the trip only has twelve open seats so it is first-come-first-serve. People are currently wait-listed for this semester’s upcoming trip. “It was a great experience working in Asheville,” said Austin Wickline, a Concord University student who went on last year’s trip, “I had been on many service trips before but this one was like no other. We waded through the river picking up trash which was very different than what I’ve done in the past. However it was fun and a rewarding experience. It was also fun meeting new people from Concord who I had never met before.”