TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Several groups of University of Alabama students will participate in Alternative Spring Break, a program sponsored by the UA Office of Community Service and Volunteerism to give students an opportunity to perform community service.

The program (held during UA’s spring break week April 7-11) helps the community with tangible work and service while helping students by providing a life-changing experience of helping others and a broader understanding of the world around them.

One group of 15 students will travel to Kingston, Jamaica for a week of community service. Their trip is coordinated with their co-sponsoring organization, Rotary of Kingston. The students will volunteer by assisting with renovation efforts of the Salvation Army School for the Blind, tutoring three- to seven-year-olds in Berean and Kencott Basic Schools and cleaning debris from Lime Cay Island. They will depart for Kingston on Friday, April 4, and return Saturday, April 12. For more information, contact trip coordinator Valerie Phillips at 205/348-5722.

Another group of 12 students will serve the community of New Orleans. The students will spend the week building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Their project begins on Monday, April 7, and they will return Saturday, April 12. Trip coordinator Jeremy Henderson can be reached at 205/348-6866 to find out more about this project.

The UA Wesley Foundation will take 19 students to St. Petersburg, Fla., to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. This group served the St. Petersburg area last year through Alternative Spring Break, and several of the students are returning volunteers. Their trip will begin on Sunday, April 6, and they will return Friday, April 11. Ken Smith is the trip coordinator and can be reached for more information at 205/758-3502.

Chi Alpha, a Christian fellowship group on campus, will take nine students to Virginia for community service projects. The group will be working with three younger Chi Alpha groups from The College of William and Mary, Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University on campus service projects. The Alabama chapter, which is 17 years old, will also take part in Chi Alpha meetings at all three campuses during the week and encourage the members of these newer chapters. They will be working from Saturday, April 5, to Saturday, April 12. Contact Chi Alpha pastor Shane Dorrill for more details at 205/886-5279 or 205/556-3999 or e-mail at bamaxa@aol.com.

Another group will be traveling to Mexico on a mission trip. They are sponsored by Baptist Campus Ministries. They will leave Friday, April 4, and return on Saturday, April 12. The 163 students participating in the mission are divided into 13 teams and will perform community service in the border towns of Nuevo and Laredo, Mexico. Their projects include medical service performed by nursing and pre-medicine students, sports clinics, construction work and interaction with kids through music, food, recreation and Bible stories. Contact Matt Kerlin at 205/345-3983 to learn more about the mission trip.

All of the trips should provide needed help as well as unique cultural experiences for the students.