Sara van der Giessen Spends Spring Break on Service Trip

2013 Mar 8

Sara van der Giessen of Seattle, Washington, is one of approximately 135 students from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, spending spring break doing service projects throughout the U.S. and Canada. van der Giessen is a junior majoring in nursing. nursing. She, with a group of approximately 10 people, is traveling to Inez, Kentucky.

As part of an ongoing desire to make service a part of everyday life, these students chose to participate in a week-long mission trip with PLIA (Putting Love Into Action). On March 8, students travelled to one of the following locations: Argentine, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah; Camden, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cary, Mississippi; Grand Junction, Colorado; Inez, Kentucky; Jackson, Mississippi; Neon, Kentucky; New Orleans, Louisiana; Shiprock, New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; and Toronto, Canada.

At the sites, students will do a wide variety of jobs, including home repair and painting, cleanup of center grounds or facilities, and childcare or teaching. They also cultivate long-term relationships between Dordt and the organization the group is serving. While on the trip, groups also typically spend some time on recreation and sightseeing.

Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive Christian college rooted in the Reformed tradition. U.S. News & World Report, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review all list Dordt on their best colleges lists. Dordt is home to approximately 1,400 students. To learn more about Dordt College, visit www.dordt.edu.