SVSU student Thomas Sutherland, of Carsonville, to spend holiday break volunteering in North Carolina

2014 Dec 3

Thomas Sutherland, of Carsonville, will join a group of Saginaw Valley State University students participating in the Alternative Breaks program, which sends students to volunteer across the globe during traditional school break periods such as the upcoming holiday recess.

Sutherland, a finance major, will travel to Asheville, N.C. with 10 other SVSU students to help the local YMCA with youth programming initiatives from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20.

"I want to be happy, and I cannot help but be when I am helping other people," Sutherland said.

The initiative is one of seven opportunities being organized through SVSU's Alternative Breaks, a student-run program.

The initiatives include students traveling to Harlan, Ky., where they will help the organization Harlan Community Action Agency organize a soup kitchen and perform house repairs; to Miami, where students will help the organization Ronald McDonald House organize activities for children and families; and to New York City, where students will help the organization Gods Love We Deliver to provide food, shelter and meals for ill people.

The other Alternative Breaks initiatives include students traveling to Salt Lake City, where they will help the organization International Rescue Committee provide food and shelter to others; to Tucson, Arizona, where they will help Habitat for Humanity with building housing developments; to Springs, Fla. where students will help the organization Peace River Refuge And Ranch care for large exotic animal habitats; and to Asheville, N.C. to help a local YMCA with youth programming initiatives.