Media Alert: The Kids Are Alright!

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For some college students, spring break means major partying in Punta Cana or the Alps, but 41 University at Buffalo students will spend their March 12-20 break cleaning up parks, feeding the hungry, aiding the elderly, restoring damaged buildings, building homes and assisting with neighborhood projects.

The program, coordinated by the UB Center for Student Leadership & Community Engagement, is sponsoring two teams of community workers, a team of 19 students in Buffalo, and a team of 22 UB students in New Orleans, where they will rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Media contact on site for all local projects: Tim Leonard 724-433-1769

Local activities on Tues., March 15

o 9:30-11:30 a.m. -- Fifteen students will repaint the Habitat for Humanity Reuse store, 501 Amherst St., damaged by vandals.

o 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. -- Five UB students will help Buffalo Reuse, 298 Northampton St., recycle materials -- many different activities. They meet on site at 10 a.m.

o 1:30-4:30 p.m. -- Students will cleanup city parks with the Olmstead Parks Conservancy, Delaware Park. Will meet at 1:30 p.m. at Parkside Lodge, 84 Parkside Ave., Buffalo.

No coverage possible for projects on Wed., March 16 or Thurs., March 17 (students will work in Rochester)

Local activities on Fri., March 18

o 9 a.m.-noon -- 15 students will work at the WNY Food Bank, 91 Holt St. , Buffalo.

o 9 a.m.- noon -- Seven UB students will make lunch at the City Mission, 100 East Tupper St., Buffalo.

o 1-4 p.m. -- A group of students will meet at 1 p.m. at 2814 Main St., Niagara Falls, to prep windows and flier the neighborhood for the Niagara Falls Main Street Professional Association's summer Niagara Falls Music and Arts Festival.

Some UB students worked at the City Mission on Sat., March 12 and on Mon., March 14, with elderly residents of the Bristol Home and Harris Hill Nursing Facility. Some will work with Junior Achievement on Wed., March 16.

"Every year, we see more and more students interested in giving back to their community," says Amy Wilson, associate director of UB's Center for Student Leadership and Community Engagement. "Alternative Spring Break is an ideal way to spend your time off from school. Students come back from break reenergized and fulfilled in a way that a trip to Mexico could never accomplish."