RIT Students Embark on Spring Break—in Monroe County

Rochester Institute of Technology students are finishing their exams and packing their bags for next week’s spring break. Some will head south. Many will head home. And 11 others will head for St. Charles Borromeo Church on Dewey Avenue in Greece, the headquarters of RIT’s 2007 Alternative Spring Break.

The students opted to forgo the traditional spring break and chose to immerse themselves in the Rochester community instead. The group will leave RIT at 12:30 p.m., March 4 for St. Charles, where they will live until March 8. Their goal is twofold: to give back to the community while learning about the community.

“Many of our students are unaware of what the Rochester community has to offer. Alternative Spring Break offers us an opportunity to immerse some of our students in the Rochester community, teach them about issues facing society and provide them with an opportunity to do some community service,” says Phyllis Walker, the coordinator of RIT’s Leadership Institute and Community Service Center.

Each of the four service days has a theme: poverty, women/children issues, education and government. Service activities, guest speakers and tours have been set up around each issue. Below is a schedule of events:

March 4: Move-in day
March 5: Sojourner House, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
March 6: School No. 2, 9 a.m –noon; School No. 34, 2 p.m.–5 p.m.
March 7: City Hall tour, 9 a.m.–noon; Susan B. Anthony House tour, 2–5 p.m.
March 8: Service project at St. Charles, 9 a.m.–noon; Awards ceremony featuring Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, 12:30–1:30 p.m.