Thirty Fresno State students opted to give up part of their spring breaks to lend a hand to the Fresno community, totaling over 1,000 hours of service work.

The Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program, which started eight years ago, gives students the opportunity to engage in a productive task that is valued among the community, said Alejandra Prado, a third-year social work and Chicano studies major and one of the ASB program team leaders.

Over the years, ASB has partnered with many organizations including the Ronald McDonald House, Sierra Foothills Conservancy, Fresno Rescue Mission and Fresno Street Saints.

This spring break the students had the opportunity to volunteer with one of the two teams within the ASB program; the Every Neighborhood Partnership and GRID Alternatives Central Valley.

Prado and her team of 19 students completed their service project with the Every Neighborhood Partnership group. The volunteers started their assignment on Saturday March 21, developing a Saturday sports program at Yokomi Elementary.

“A lot of students of the elementary school want to go out and play but don’t have a local park available to them,” Prado said. “With the volunteers’ help, the school will now be able to stay open during weekends to give families a place to bond and keep the kids away from the bad influences in the area.”

In the mornings, volunteers engaged in activities with the kids playing sports and constructing crafts. In the afternoon, the group beautified the neighborhood, cleaning trash and removing graffiti.

To culminate the four-day-long service activity, the team prepared a carnival for the children and their parents.

“The parents really appreciated us going there and spending time with the kids and just seeing that there are students out there that are willing to give up their time during spring break,” Prado said.

While the Every Neighborhood Partnership group was giving children a reason to smile, the GRID Alternative team was a couple blocks away hard at work with a creation of its own.

Volunteers in the group installed solar panels on two homes in the downtown area.

“I came in completely blind to solar electricity, and mechanics and circuity, in general,” said Levi Landon, a third-year philosophy and political science major.

Like Landon, the other volunteers had no prior installation experience.

The GRID Alternative staff guided all the students step-by-step and taught them how all the parts worked and explained how to assemble the panels. Each of the 11 group member had the opportunity to drill, mold and assemble the solar panels onto the home.

Rita Kalacheva, a third-year economics major, said the rewarding experience gave her newfound installation skills and a personal connection with the community.

“The owners of the houses where we installed the solar panels were really excited and thankful about our contribution to the project,” Kalacheva said. “One of the homeowners got emotional during the solar panel installation; I don’t think I’ll ever forget the excitement in her face.”

The GRID Alternatives was the first project that has required the ASB volunteers to build a structure and engage in labor intensive work.

The ASB volunteers made a difference within the community not only through their actions but by providing a helping hand and inspirational words, she said.