CSU United
Sacramento State Alternative Breaks Serves in Sonoma County
Last October, our community was hit hard when the devastating wildfires swept through Sonoma County. Although the news trucks and National Guard has left, our area is still in recovery mode, and will be for a very long time.
Many colleges offer Alternative Spring Break programs. This is an opportunity for students to travel during their Spring Break to a different city to volunteer in that community working on a specific issue such as food security, human trafficking, poverty, or homelessness. Shortly after the fires, Sacramento State approached Sonoma State and offered to spend their Alternative Spring Break here, serving Sonoma County in relief efforts. The students partnered with a variety of local organizations such as Restorative Resources, Habitat of Humanity, Charles M. Schulz Museum, Sonoma Ecology Center, and Redwood Empire Food Bank.
I met up with the group of 11 Sac State students at Redwood Empire Food Bank, three days into their service. They were packaging carrots to be distributed across the county. We talked about how their week has been, their majors and career aspirations, the beauty of Sonoma County, and mutually complained about the rainy weather. They told me about how they learned to facilitate a listening circle from Restorative Resources. Listening circles allow for people to tell stories and have relaxed conversation at the time of a crisis. David, a currently undeclared student, said this experience actually gave him some clarity on what he wants to do in the future, "after working in this service project I've found that I really liked working with people, especially in the listening circles, it's been a really transformative experience for me."
Although most said they weren't very fond of the cold weather, AJ, a senior Sociology major said, "I really liked working at Sugarloaf clearing debris in the rain, it was really fun!" Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a beautiful park filled with mountainous hiking trails, camping, and wildlife. It's operated by the nonprofit, Team Sugarloaf. It was hit hard by the wildfires and is still closed in many affected areas.
Jasmin, a senior Psychology major, said the trip was especially important to her because she wanted to, "help out the community with the terrible natural disaster." And Jonathan, a Biology major, made the observation that most Sonoma County citizens realized shortly after the fires too, "I've really enjoyed seeing all of these different group coming together to help each other after a crisis."
What really struck me was that every student was extremely enthusiastic about their work and happy to share their thoughts with me. I am truly inspired and grateful for their meaningful service. I also felt prideful getting to talk about how amazing Sonoma County and the people who live here are. This experience also reminded me about how powerful the CSU can be when we help support each other. The Community Engagement Center at Sacramento State agreed that, "The Alternative Break was a transformative experience for the students. Throughout the week they accomplished many projects aimed at supporting the recovery of Sonoma County". Thank you so much Sacramento State Alternative Break students and coordinators for improving the lives of so many people in the Sonoma State community! If you're interested in serving during your Spring Break, check out Sonoma State's Alternative Breaks program.