MANSFIELD, PA— While most college students spent spring break at the beach, with their families, or involved in other traditional activities, six Mansfield University Community Service Club members spent the week of March 8 helping the needy.
They participated in “Break a Difference,” an alternative spring break.
Alana Corradi (Califon, NJ), Team Leader Brianna Dion (Sellersville, PA), Marissa Gilbert (Warrington, PA), Mark Nellenbach (New York Mills, NY), Ben Rosenberger (Ulster, PA) and Jake Rubin (Pennsburg, PA), along with Frank Crofchick, Community Conduct officer and Service coordinator and Community Service Club advisor, completed more than 200 hours of community service time for the United Way in Baltimore, MD.
“As my first formal community service venture, ‘Break a Difference’ was extremely satisfying,” Nellenbach said. “We returned from Baltimore with our heads held high because we knew we helped change lives while representing Mansfield University.”
The Mansfield g
roup spent Monday and Tuesday of their week at the Franciscan Center in Baltimore, a one stop shop for individuals in need.
“Our main responsibility for the two days was to welcome guests, prepare and serve food, cleaning, and with their clothing drive,” Crofchick said. “During our two days at the Franciscan Center we served over 550 individual in need.”
Wednesday, MU students set up and prepped for a college fair for the Boys and Girls Club students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade in Baltimore. The Mansfield students th
en volunteered at the college fair, talking with high school age participants about benefits of going to college and the positive impact of obtaining a college degree.
“It was truly humbling to see our Mansfield students working with these young adults and I am positive they inspired many during this event,” Crofchick said.
After the college fair, all “Break a Difference” volunteers participated in a program called “Walk a Mile,” which put volunteers in the actual shoes of individuals in need for a one mile walk.
“We really walked a mile in the shoes of someone less fortunate for a whole week,” Corradi said. “The experience we had as a team will st
ay with me always and I am so thankful.”
On Thursday, the MU contingent helped at Real Food Farms, a Baltimore farm that grows vegetables for the homeless and needy. They took down greenhouses damaged during the winter and built new ones.
Friday, the Mansfield group volunteered at the Ma
ryland Food Bank in Baltimore, packaging food and clothing in boxes to be distributed to individuals in need around the state of Maryland.
“I had no idea the types of services that existed for people in crisis,” Rosenberger said. “Alternative Spring Break with ‘Break a Difference’ really opened my eyes to the needs that people may have and how those needs can be met. I plan on taking some of those helping strategies to aid in my own community.”
Also during the week, the Mansfield group had the chance to tour the U.S. Capital Building with the rest of the “Break a Difference” volunteers and see some of the sights in Washington, DC and Baltimore.
To see more pictures from the Mansfield “Break a Difference” experience, go to the Community Service Club Facebook page at facebook.com/MansfieldUniversityCommunityServiceClub
For more information on the Community Service Club and community and volunteer services and opportunities at MU, go to mansfield.edu/community-service2/