April 26, 2002
Contact: Annie Johnson (509-963-3468/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail:johnsann@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Nine Central Washington University students skipped the traditional spring break trip to the beach, the mountains or home to visit friends and family, and took an “alternative spring break” March17-23 instead.
Sponsored by the CWU service-learning and volunteer center and coordinated by Melissa Stokke, a senior from Gig Harbor, the Central students went to Portland, Ore. — a city with an elevated homeless rate and hunger ratio nearly double the national average.
While attending a conference in Portland, Stokke says the number of homeless people she saw persuaded her to lead a CWU group there to lend a hand.
The Central volunteers helped in soup kitchens, transitional shelters and at food banks, often working from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.
“To risk sounding cliché, the trip was an adventure that forever changed who I am,” says Wesley Carter, a junior political science major from Renton. “Not only did I feel like I helped people who needed my help, but also I grew immensely as a person.”
Other participating CWU students were: Nathan Harris, senior, Longview; Joshua Bain, sophomore, Renton; Kristin Lie, junior, Woodinville; Sung-Eun Lee, graduate student, Seoul, South Korea; Luis Santa Ana, graduate student, Colima, Mexico; Sara Balasundaram, sophomore, Tacoma; Jessica Manke, junior, Ellensburg; and Lacy Ledbeter, junior, Leavenworth.
