Two major service opportunities this spring, organized by the Center for Community and Civic Engagement, are giving students and the broader Elizabethtown College community ways to combine learning with hands-on impact, both regionally and globally.
The CCCE coordinates volunteer and outreach initiatives for students, faculty and staff across the region and beyond. It partners with community groups to connect classroom learning with real-world needs.
The first is a weeklong Spring Break Service Trip scheduled Feb. 28 to March 6. The trip will take students to Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia for a program centered on civic learning, history and community engagement. At least nine students are expected to participate, with a mix of returning students and first-time attendees.
Organizers say the trip is designed to help students engage more deeply with the history of slavery, the Black experience in the United States and the evolution of voting rights. Students will visit several major educational and cultural sites, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, The King Center, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, the Legacy Museum and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. A stop in Selma is also planned as part of the group’s focus on voting rights history and the legacy of the civil rights movement.
“Students will get to engage with a lot of rich cultural experience around history, around slavery, around the Black experience, as well as around voting and what that has looked like in our country,” Brianna Titi, program manager for the CCCE, said.
Service is a key component of the trip. Students will partner with Habitat for Humanity for one full day of hands-on volunteer work, a partnership the college maintains both locally and in other regions. Organizers are also developing a second day of service that will offer a new type of experience compared with previous years, adding another layer of community engagement to the educational focus of the trip.
Students will stay in Hampton Inns in Tuscaloosa, Chattanooga, Birmingham and Sevierville as they travel between destinations. The itinerary is nearly finalized, with most details set and the second service project still being refined. Organizers also plan to support local economies by visiting locally owned restaurants and businesses during the trip, encouraging students to think about community impact in multiple ways.
Later in the semester, the campus community will have another chance to serve during the annual Spring Day of Service on Friday, March 27. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Thompson Gym, with multiple shifts available so participants can sign up at different times.
Organizers expect at least 250 participants, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and other community members. Individuals, campus departments, student organizations and athletic teams are all encouraged to take part, making the day a campuswide effort.
This year’s project will be held in partnership with Unto, a local humanitarian organization that supports communities in countries around the world. Volunteers will work together to pack 45,000 meal kits containing rice and beans to support global food security efforts.
Participants will receive “Etown Cares” T-shirts, and organizers describe the day as a high-energy opportunity to make a tangible difference in just a few hours while working alongside others from across campus.
Registration information for the Spring Day of Service is expected to be available soon. Save-the-date messages are already being shared and details will be promoted through campus news, social media, digital screens and banners. Organizers aim to have full registration information available by mid-March and encourage anyone interested to watch for updates and sign up early.
