Spring break at Wilmington Friends lasts a fairly long time, which allows for tons of fun, varying activities. No matter what, often when the question “How was your spring break?” is posed, a typical response is “fun.” This spring break season, various students spent their spring break participating in what is called “service based fun.” These students did all sorts of service this spring break, having loads of fun while learning and helping their community.

Jayna Jones ’17 participated in her service based fun along with a group of students at “Centro y Esperanza” in Puerto Rico. Jones learned about this opportunity from Laura Pardo, a middle school spanish teacher at Wilmington Friends. When asked about the service completed, Jones commented that “For me a big challenge was communicating with the children because I don’t know any Spanish, and the children there spoke quickly and it was sometimes hard to understand. So I was able to color with this one girl and we sort of broke past the language barrier that way. But it was certainly a fun experience to spend time learning through the people we encountered there.” Jones also noted that during her time there, she thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people and immersing herself in the Puerto Rican culture. A particularly interesting event Jones participated in was a mini violin lesson, in which she and her friends were able to learn yet another skill. Finally, when asked if she would recommend service based fun to other students at WFS, Jones commented that “It’s definitely worth it to do service over break, because you can use your free time for a good cause, and expand your influence beyond its normal scope. I would just want to remark on how welcoming and friendly all of the people were; the nun who was in charge of the school gave us juice, cookies, and cake after we were done, and the teachers were excited to share their culture as well as learn about ours.” Overall, the trip seemed educationally enriching, fun, and also a great help to the Puerto Rican community.

Another student at Wilmington Friends, Lena Urick ’17, took part in a more local service opportunity during her volunteer work at Community Volunteers of Medicine, a free clinic located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Urick commented that “The main purpose of CVM, or Community Volunteers of Medicine, is to provide dental and medical service to those in the community who don’t have access to insurance.” During her time there, Urick used her Spanish skills to help doctors and pharmacists care for Spanish-speaking patients, helping schedule patient appointments and answer questions when needed. When asked how her service was enjoyable, Urick noted that “It was rewarding to help so many people, which were all very nice. I also got to learn a lot about the community around me that I may have not explored in the past, as well as meeting some pretty interesting people. The whole experience was educational and fun at the same time, and was something I definitely looked forward to doing and would continue to do in the future.”

Overall, the service based fun that students at Wilmington Friends participated in this year proves that one can combine aiding the community with a good bit of fun. From around the world to local businesses, there are countless opportunities for service based fun. So keep your eyes peeled, and be the one to give back to your community next break.