New Orleans Alternative Spring Break

What: Student volunteer service trip
Where: New Orleans
When: March 1 – 7, 2020 (during spring break)
Who: Students working with lowernine.org
Estimated cost: The cost for this trip averages out to approximately $750/student. Team fundraising helps to alleviate this cost.

About:
The infamous photos of homes flooded by the waters of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina with people clinging to safety on their rooftops were mostly of New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood. A historic, low-income African American community located beneath the levies that did not hold, is to this day still slowly coming back. Students have been working in the neighborhood every year on their Spring Break since 2006. Our partner, LowerNine.org, assists families with getting back on to their properties, getting financial help, and does the hands-on rebuilding with volunteers. Students will learn about and discuss neighborhood inequities, racism, climate change, urban public policy, and more. Additionally, students will enjoy experiencing the historic French Quarter and the unique culture of New Orleans – the Caribbean’s northernmost city.

Interested student?
Recruiting for each spring break trip happens early in the fall semester. Contact communityservice@strose.edu for more information.

“The bond that the group had on and off the work sites made me feel like I had known everyone for years. It’s amazing what a couple long days of hard work and sharing tight quarters does to a group of people.”
-Meghan Mallon ’17, New Orleans 2014 participant

“The week consisted of strenuous, humbling work. The kind of work that you can see progress in, and be proud of the results. When moral was low and times seemed tough, the positive attitudes of the team and the homeowners helped us to persevere and push ourselves.”
-Drew Mancini ’16, New Orleans 2014 participant