{"id":37254,"date":"2016-01-18T10:21:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T14:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=37254"},"modified":"2016-01-18T10:26:10","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T14:26:10","slug":"spots-still-available-for-reading-week-trip-to-south-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/01\/spots-still-available-for-reading-week-trip-to-south-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"Spots still available for reading week trip to South Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"

They were trips that changed Angela Mott\u2019s life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not just because she got to give back by helping build two Habitat for Humanity homes in a poverty-stricken community in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Not just because doing service for others made her feel good while also making her think about poverty and social inequality.<\/p>\n

It was the friendships she made with the other participants in Brock University\u2019s Alternative Reading Week trips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was the experiential learning that helped her develop leadership abilities she will use forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were the most amazing trips of my life,\u201d said Mott, a fourth-year Geography student. \u201cThey were definitely transformative trips for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very concrete way of helping. The house will be there forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the community service aspect was both rewarding and eye opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very concrete way of helping. The house will be there forever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mott said the relationships she forged with other Brock students she likely wouldn\u2019t have met outside the trip are ones she\u2019ll have for the rest of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreaking down the boundaries of who you usually speak to at Brock is a big part of it,\u201d she said.
\nMott went to Sumter, South Carolina in 2014 as part of a group of 30 students and staff. In 2015, she returned with a new group, this time as a student leader.<\/p>\n

Kristen Smith, Manager of Student and Community Outreach, said there are still a few spots available for the upcoming trip \u2013 which goes from Feb. 13-21.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are building a home for a family there,\u201d she said, noting Brock\u2019s crew will be the first on site and when they leave the home will be fully framed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no construction experience required. They work on the site with professionals guiding them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cost for the trip is $770 Canadian and includes transportation, accommodation and meals in South Carolina. Participants are only responsible for their meals during the bus ride to and from the community.<\/p>\n

This is the fifth Alternative Reading Week trip Brock has organized to Sumter, which has a large Habitat for Humanity subdivision.<\/p>\n

Smith said the hands-on experience of building and making a difference is just one part of the trip.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the conversations and reflections on poverty, in-equality and service that transform the trip into a journey for most of the participants, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are learning by doing and learning by critical reflection,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents bring their perspectives from their own experience but also from their areas of study.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another contingent of Brock students and staff are heading to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity\u2019s Global Village program during the same week. There, they will also help build a home.<\/p>\n

For more information contact Smith at Kristen.smith@brocku.ca<\/a> or by phone at 905-688-5550 ext. 3845.<\/p>\n\n\t