SEEDS: Students for Education, Empowerment, & Direct Service
Alternative Fall and Spring Break
SEEDS often sponsors a longer trip during spring or fall break, to let students get more in-depth experiences in their leisure time. In the past, students have volunteered on a central Oregon Native American Reservation and on the Oregon Coast. In spring 2009, students went to New Orleans to help with disaster recovery and reconstruction. See photos of their experience here.
Interested in planning and coordinating a trip? Contact us!
SEEDS Alternative Spring Break 2012: New Orleans
We are no longer accepting applications for the 2012 trip to New Orleans.
Volunteers on this trip will work with the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness and to making adequate, affordable shelter in the Gulf Coast region in and near New Orleans. This trip will combine service, learning, and fun. Ten Reed students will be selected to participate. The trip leaders will work with SEEDS to plan the details of the trip. The trip will include 3-5 pre-trip meetings, at least 5 days of service in the Gulf Coast, and at least one tour and/or cultural event in the region. The trip will involve physical labor as a team as well a focus on understanding the deeper social issues involved in the disaster and the recovery.
Participant Costs: The cost includes airfare, room and board, tour costs, and transportation in the region. Financial assistance is available for a limited number of students. Participants should plan to bring some spending money for meals while in transit and additional activities.
COST: $750-800, including airfare
Fundraising: The group will be responsible for fund raising to help with the costs, and the final cost of the trip will depend on the amount of funds the group is able to raise. Each group member is obligated to participate in a letter-writing campaign and is required to send a fundraising letter to at least ten people (Support and more information provided at pre-trip meetings). In addition, there will be a group fundraiser on campus and each member is expected to participate.
This trip will be emotionally and physically intensive, but extremely rewarding! If you think you are up for the challenge, we hope you’ll apply.
Financial assistance
Financial assistance is available to students who received financial aid. Additionally, the group will work together on fundraising to make the trip affordable for everyone, so the estimated cost may be significantly lower depending on funds raised.
Past Trips
2011: In March of 2011, a group of Reedies worked for four days on a new Habitat house, helping to build a foundation, floor, and exterior walls. Read an account of the trip here.
2006: In October of 2006, SEEDS coordinated a service trip with a group 12 Reedies who gutted houses, cooked, cleaned, delivered food and generally worked extremely hard for one week on Katrina recovery in the New Orleans Gulf Region with the Common Ground Collective, inspired in part by the call of Heidi Reich '05. To learn more, you can see photos from the SEEDS NOLA service trip or download journal entry reflections written on the trip home by participants.