Betsy Fountain (left) and Malcolm Joseph (center) were among 16 Boston College sophomores, juniors, and seniors who traveled to impoverished neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, to help care for disabled children as part of a spring break service trip.
Led by Alec Peck, associate professor in the Lynch School of Education, students visited four facilities run by Mustard Seed Communities, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and care for children with severe disabilities, as well as support for children living with HIV/AIDS and for unwed adolescent mothers.
With limited resources, Mustard Seed staff depend on the help of volunteers. “We do everything from building walls, pouring concrete floors, and repairing furniture,” says Peck.
“They really look forward to us coming,” says Peck. “I am so proud of our students—their maturity and level of commitment distinguishes them as volunteers.”
Jamaica was one of nearly a dozen destinations for students on spring break service trips, with more than 650 volunteering in Appalachia to help build houses, working on Native American reservations in the southwest, and traveling to Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.