Some West Virginia University students will be skipping traditional spring break beach trips and trading their suntan lotion for hammers as part of the WVU Office of Service Learning Programs alternative break program March 25-28.

Students will volunteer at nearby Scotts Run Settlement House, a community center in Osage.

“We have previously been elsewhere in West Virginia for alternative break programs and even to other states, but we decided to show students the opportunities to help closer to home this year,”said Dr. Susan Hunter, Office of Service Learning Programs (OSLP) Director.

Among the projects to be tackled during this years alternative spring break is moving playground equipment to a public park near Everettville. Scotts Run Settlement House representative Printess Winston expects the park to undergo a dramatic transformation with the help of alternative break program participants.”I think the students will feel really good about this,”said Winston.

For more information on the alternative break program, contact OSLP at 293-8761, or send email to cestep2@yahoo.com .