March 18, 2004

Boise State Students Volunteer In San Diego For Spring Break

Rivers, beaches and wetland areas in the San Diego area will be cleaner after spring break thanks to a hard-working group of Boise State students. The Volunteer Services Board (VSB) has recruited 19 students to travel to San Diego March 22-26 to perform a week’s worth of volunteer service during an “alternative spring break.” The students will assist the San Diego Audubon Society and the San Diego River Park Foundation with removing invasive plant species, repairing trails, picking up trash and restoring bird habitat at several locations in and around San Diego. The trip, organized entirely by students through the VSB, is the first university-sponsored alternative spring break trip in several years and the first trip through VSB. Tara Farmer, VSB’s hunger and homelessness issues coordinator, said she wants the trip to become an annual tradition of service in different communities. For this year, Farmer said, the group had three goals: “First, to serve in an interest area that needs volunteer help, so we chose environmental work for our group. Second, to become acquainted with the diversity and culture of a big city, which is why we chose San Diego. And third, to foster awareness and civic mindedness within the individuals in our group.” Farmer said that the work itself, along with the satisfaction that comes from being of service, will be the greatest reward for the students who are participating. In addition, she said, the process of organizing the trip has forged a group of strangers into a team. “This one is really significant,” she said, “because our team has gone from not knowing each other to fundraising their way to San Diego, and finally to serving with each other.” Travel and housing expenses for the trip will be paid for by the participating students themselves, subsidized by fundraising efforts. Albertsons, Quizno’s and the American Audubon Society are providing some of the food for the week. VSB has been raising funds for the venture since last fall through a variety of projects both on and off campus. Group members will spend each weekday of their vacation working with other volunteer groups at a site selected by the host organizations. Sites include the Famosa Slough wetland area, the Mission Valley Preserve city park and a portion of the San Diego River estuary. “We have exceptionally generous and thoughtful students at Boise State who are very environmentally minded and eager for this opportunity to be of service,” said Student Organizations program coordinator Mike Esposito. Esposito, who advises VSB, will accompany the group to San Diego. -30- Contact Mike Esposito Student Organizations 208 426-1223 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275