Denver, Phoenix, New Orleans, Jamaica, Mexico. Next week Campus Ministry is sending students to some of the most popular spring-break getaways, but these people are not going to be spending their spring-break vacation sunning or skiing. These 130 students have opted to spend their week serving others on mission trips sponsored by the Saint Louis University Community Action Program.

“The whole idea of the program is for students to have a week living alongside people living on the margins of society, whether they be economically poor, elderly, Native Americans or mentally handicapped,” said Harry O’Rourke, peace and social justice campus minister in charge of the SLUCAP trips each year.

SLUCAP is traveling to 11 sites scattered all over the United States, from New York to Denver and South Dakota to Texas. There are also four international sites in Guatemala, Honduras and Jamaica. The type of work varies from site to site, but students will be doing things like working in parish outreach centers and community centers with the homeless, illiterate, hungry and elderly.

“Each trip, no matter where they are going . has the same goals: to help us see where our faith calls us to live in relation to people who are poor, to see where God is present, to see how we’re called to account for systems that oppress,” said O’Rourke.

The different groups are made up of four to 11 people. Though each trip has a facilitator, a full-time staff member or a graduate student with experience in mission work, the trips are largely student led. The student leaders will work with the facilitators to make necessary preparations and plan activities, keeping in mind the four foundations of SLUCAP: Spirituality, social justice, simplicity and community.

Sophomore Tricia Fechter will be leading the trip to Campti, La., the same trip she took last year. In Campti her group will be working with a mission parish to restore and clean up homes.

“(Mission trips) always turn out to be worthwhile and a lot of fun-not that going to the beach wouldn’t be fun. But this is a much different experience,” said Fechter. “I also get to see places that I would never see otherwise.”

Junior Maria Kronk will be traveling to San Benito, Texas, her first SLUCAP trip.

“I went on a mission trip and did other volunteer work in high school. Participating in this trip gives me an opportunity to do service that I have wanted to do, but that has been difficult since I’ve started college.”