Students raise funds for TAB

“Who doesn’t love yummy treats?” Take a Break- (TaB-) Texas participant freshman Kate Wilhelm said at TaB’s bake sale this past Thursday. Indeed, it was hard to miss the selection of baked goods being sold by the students going to Texas over spring break. The bake sale raised about $200 for TaB-Texas.

Many students have heard of TaB, but few know what it is. “TaB is an alternative spring break,” Co-Facilitator of TaB-Texas senior Ali Perez said. “Students give up their spring break to volunteer around the country. They go into the communities and live there for a week. They live simply and just volunteer and help in the community.” This year TaB is sending students to Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois and different locations in Oregon.

The point of TaB is to make positive contributions to other communities. However, students need to fundraise in order to travel and do the work they do. “The money goes directly to the cost of the trips: housing, airfare, food and supplies. We all fundraise to cover our costs,” Co-Facilitator of TaB-Chicago junior Ethan Bancroft said.

The purpose of Thursday’s bake sale was to do just that. “It actually takes a lot of money to go on TaB,” Perez said. “We try and make it so there is a minimal cost for the students who are volunteering so anyone who wants to go is able to. This means a lot of fundraising.”

According to Wilhelm, Willamette students are dependent on the campus community to support them in going on these trips. “The Willamette community should support these fundraisers because it allows us to do this work that has a real impact,” Wilhelm said. “The work that we do there is so powerful for those people that it is important that we [are] able to continue doing it. We fundraise so we can make it happen.”

The group that put on the bake sale will be going to Weslaco, Tex., which is located near the border of Mexico. “We are going to be working in one of the local schools there…and also working with an organization similar to Habitat for Humanity,” Wilhelm said. The students are volunteering with Proyecto Azteca and will work alongside the actual recipients of the homes they help to build.

TaB wants to get the word out about helping people in other communities. “It’s a great way to get involved and…see what’s out there and how other people are living,” Perez said. “We all affect each other. Even if it’s not local, service is something that should be done everywhere.”

“There are a lot of opportunities to volunteer in Salem, but [TaB] offers a different perspective. It’s really worthwhile,” Bancroft said. TaB is unique in its capacity to help people in other parts on the U.S. by sending the volunteers where they are needed, rather than just sending money. For Willamette students, it is not just about community service, it is about the whole experience.

According to Willhelm, TaB allows a valuable and awareness-increasing experience for Willamette students. “I think it is important for people to understand how life is in other parts of the world. In places even an hour away from here, things are totally different. It’s important for us to help people everywhere. Every town has something [it] needs help with. There are people outside of our little bubble,” Wilhelm said.

By Amber Smith
Contact: absmith@willamette.edu

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