UCC-UConn

Alternative Spring Break - Mission Trips

Our Alternative Spring Break trips are our biggest event each year. Over the past four years, we've had close to 70 people participate on our Alternative Spring Breaks. Our goal of our Alternative Spring Break trips is to provide an alternative break for UConn students who do not wish to go party for a week down in Cancun or Mexico. We travel to various parts of the country to help with disaster relief. So far we've helped with hurricane relief in two parts of the country.

In 2006, 16 of us traveled to Port Charlotte, FL to help with Hurricane Charlie relief. While there we worked on a home of a single man whose house was damaged when a tree fell on it. He had been living in a FEMA trailer since the hurricane hit. Our jobs included re-shingling the whole roof, doing some framing, and helping clear out the inside of the house.

For three years (2007-2009), wee traveled to Slidell, LA. In 2007, 15 of us went down, where we worked on two sites. One group was helping frame a building that eventually became a church. The other group was working on the home of two older sisters that had been flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Our work involved installing insulation and sheetrock around the house.

In 2008, 20 of us were placed at a home in New Orleans that had also been flooded. While there we worked on finishing hanging sheetrock on the lower level of the house and started taping and mudding the sheetrock that had been hung on the upper level of the house.

In 2009, 18 of us worked in two groups. One group worked with a group of 4 Mennonite gentlemen framing a building that was to become a shelter for men who had jobs, but could not afford housing. The other group split time between two houses. At both we spent our time hanging sheetrock and performing various small jobs around the yard. To read about our experiences on the 2009 trip, please read our blog: http://uccuconnasb09.blogspot.com/

For our 2010 trip, 24 people traveled to Texas City, TX from March 6th-13th. While down there, we repaired houses or buildings in or near the Galveston area that were damaged when Hurricane Ike hit the area in 2008. We worked through a group called the Disciples Disaster Recovery, Inc. that was formed by the Disciples of Christ after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. They have 8 different mission stations along the Gulf Coast, including the Slidell, LA station that we stayed at. The Texas City, TX site is also in partnership with the United Church of Christ. We will be staying at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Texas City. We regret that we are unable to take any more people on our 2010 trip, as the site can hold up to only 24 people.

OUR 2010 TRIP TO TEXAS CITY, TX: http://uccuconnasb2010.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

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