About 50 West Virginia University students are headed south for spring break, but it isn’t to party.

The students are using their vacation to lend a hand to rebuilding efforts in hurricane-devastated Louisiana . They will join thousands of students from other colleges and universities volunteering in New Orleans .

We will be doing cleanup more than anything else,said Roy Baker with Campus Crusade for Christ.There will also be opportunities to rebuild and help with food distribution, which will include helping feed the 4,000 college students who volunteered.

Campus Crusade for Christ is partnering with Habitat for Humanity as well as many organizations in New Orleans on the project, Baker noted.

The WVU group will depart from the Coliseum today at 7 p.m. Students will travel by bus and arrive in New Orleans Saturday, March 11. They will work through Friday, March 17, and plan to be back in Morgantown early Saturday, March 18.

While they’re in Louisiana , some students will sleep on cots in a warehouse while others will stay in MASH -style army tents.

It is in our heart to send students and other volunteers to provide physical, emotional and spiritual encouragement,said Baker, who is coordinating the trip.It is our vision to see communities experience a social and spiritual rebirth. The most practical way we can think to do that is to provide volunteer manpower to provide help for low-income residents, following the lead of local leadership.

Another trip to the Gulf Coast was organized by WVU Christian Student Fellowship, a nondenominational campus ministry.

Fourteen students, accompanied by the Rev. Sandy Bigelow, will spend a week repairing shingles and dry wall and doing yard cleanup at three homes in Pass Christian, Miss.

Students will leave Christian Student Fellowship ( 2901 University Ave. ) at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, March 11, and return to Morgantown Sunday, March 19.