During a week when many college students go to warmer climates, 60 students from Wayne State University, including guests from Loyola University in Chicago, will spend spring break in Detroit making a difference. The students are participating in a full immersion, service-learning program called Alternative Spring Break Detroit (ASBD), now in its seventh year at the university.

ASBD participants volunteer for 5-6 hours each day at nonprofit organizations. They eat at culturally themed restaurants each night, stay in a downtown church and attend educational sessions that focus on education, crime and blight, arts and cultural awareness and hunger and homelessness.

The ASBD program helps students let go of negative stereotypes and increase their awareness about issues affecting the city. It also gives them a connection to Detroit beyond what they experience at Wayne State. The program inspires students to become active members of the community. Many past participants have formed new volunteer organizations to continue the work they started during spring break.

ASBD is sponsored by the Dean of Students Office and the Detroit Orientation Institute.

For more information, contact the Dean of Students, David J. Strauss, at (313) 577-4977 or (313) 300-1965.

Media is invited to cover the event. Photo and video ops can be arranged.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.