Literacy Arts
Want to do something meaningful with your Spring Break?
Creating connections is more important than ever and stories empower us, uplift our voices, and let us learn from our communal experiences and our differences. Please join us in crafting this community of storytellers!
WHAT IS LITERACY ARTS ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK?
Riverway Education Partnerships recruits a group of UW undergraduates to volunteer on a literacy arts project with elementary, middle or high school youth in rural and tribal Washington during spring break. Students are divided into teams to work with each site and are coordinated by a student Team Leader. Students will attend 2 LASB training sessions to learn more about educational practice, the communities they will be working with, as well as establish connections with their fellow undergraduate teammates.
During the spring break week, UW students will help young students work on creative storytelling projects about their lives and their communities, writing and editing drafts and eventually collecting stories into a magazine to be distributed to all participants.
WHAT SITES DO VOLUNTEERS WORK WITH?
Examples of communities LASB students work with include Curlew, Forks, Harrah, Omak, Tonasket and Taholah.
WHAT DOES RIVERWAYS PROVIDE?
Riverways will provide all needed materials and training.
COST?
There is no fee to participate in ASB.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Any enrolled UW student can apply. While Alternative Spring Break isn’t limited to students who have workd with K-8 students before, applicants that have youth work/teaching experience are preferred.
WHO ARE OUR TEAM LEADERS?
Students are divided into teams to work with each different site. Each team is led by a Team Leader. Team Leaders help coordinate logistics, serve as contact for their site, organize their team, help facilitate projects with the K-8 students and collect stories at the end of the program. If you’re interested in taking a leadership role in this year, or participated last year and want to do more this year, apply to be a Team Leader! More information about Team Leader responsibilities on the application page.
WHAT TRAINING DO VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE?
Applicants who are chosen will participate in a 2-day LASB Training where they will learn about working with children in a K-8 setting and learn about the communities they are working with. Teams will meet on their own time to prepare.
If you have any further questions, please e-mail riverways@uw.edu.
Why get involved
“The students truly reminded me of the beauty of creativity, imagination, curiosity and having a wide-eyed view of the world, and most importantly inspiring me to never lose this mindset as we so often do as we age…ASB is among the highlights of my undergraduate experience and has done much to cement my desires to pursue a career in the field of education.”“Throughout our week in Harrah, the students reminded me about how to be creative, the teachers showed me how to be patient, our hosts taught me about hospitality and sharing, and my teammates inspired me to be reflective.”
