Amber Will, left, and Lindsey Dillingham sand and paint the interior of a house damaged by Hurricane Katrina. They were two of 12 Valpo students who participated in the 2010 SALT service trip to New Orleans. The students worked to improve two houses and also planted trees in St. Bernard Parish, La.

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Valpo Service Learning Facebook pageSocial Action Leadership TeamEngineers Without BordersCamp Restore

Dozens of Valparaiso University students spent their spring breaks lending a helping hand to those in need around the world.

Valpo’s Social Action Leadership Team sponsored three trips.

Fifteen students worked in Harvey, Ill., at a community center tutoring at-risk young people, working with homeless people, offering drug rehabilitation support, and helping to manage a food pantry. The students also volunteered for a day at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Seven students worked in rural Appalachian Kentucky helping residents with low incomes to make their homes more sturdy and secure.

And 12 students traveled to New Orleans, where they improved the interiors of two homes that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. This group also spent a day planting trees in St. Bernard Parish, N.O., in an effort to prevent shore erosion.

The students were based for a week at Camp Restore, a volunteer center located at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Camp Restore volunteers provide labor, and homeowners provide building materials in a continuing effort to fix up houses that were damaged by the 2005 flooding.

The group heard stories from three homeowners, including a firefighter who vividly described the aftermath and recovery efforts following Katrina.

“The spirit of the people here is just incredible,” junior Ali Karlin said during the trip. “They’re so committed to rebuilding, and so committed to getting this back to what it was. It’s very inspiring.”

Valpo’s two-week spring break provides numerous opportunities for service. Other spring break 2010 trips included:

• Ten students traveled to Tanzania to continue a multiyear project by Valpo’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders to assist a village facing health problems and land degradation due to a failing canal system. The team installed new canal gates to better control the flow of drinking and irrigation water to the village.

• Six education majors traveled to Central America, where they gained a global perspective on teaching and learning while working with elementary students in Nicaragua.

• Fourteen nursing, pre-medical and pre-dental majors provided health services to individuals and families in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.