Introduction to AFB Cincinnati 2014:
Poverty in the Eyes of the Youth
Our trip aims to introduce students to the poverty and the social issues
related to poverty through a unique perspective. Growing up in poverty as a
child has tremendous implications on that child’s education, physical and
mental health, and most importantly the success of their future. As the
youth are our nation’s future, we believe it is important to address these
inequalities that start early and the social issues that prevent the youth from
accomplishing their dreams and goals in life. We chose to travel to
Cincinnati for this theme because this city faces an extremely high child
poverty rate, in which 53% of the youth in the area are living below the
poverty rate. We will be working with organizations dedicated to addressing
child poverty and improving the lives of disadvantaged children and families.
Some of these organizations include The Boys and Girls Club of Greater
Cincinnati, Lighthouse Youth services, and Holly-Hill Children’s Services of
Covington, KY. Our ultimate goal for this trip is to not only educate our team
about child poverty, but also to show the impact of volunteering in a community
and the role that we can play as students in our university, as members of our
community, and even citizens of our country.
About The Trip Leaders:
Shantazia Jones:
Hey hey
everybody! I’m Shantazia Jones- a junior from Memphis, TN majoring in
Psychology and minoring in English with a pre-law focus. I am currently serving
as a peer career adviser in Career Services, where I assist my peers in their
professional and career development. My aspirations are to become a family law
attorney where I can advocate for children and help families during some of
their hardest times and eventually begin my own nonprofit organization to cater
to the needs of teens and young women of all backgrounds and socioeconomic
statuses that need support and love. I haven’t been on any Alternative Break
Trips, but I am super excited to experience one for the first time with my
amazing team in Cincinnati, Ohio serving the needs of the community’s children
in poverty. I hope my team will grow to love one another and develop lasting relationships as we all venture out together learning about and helping cater to the needs of our future generation!
Samantha Scott:
Hello!
My name is Samantha and I am a senior from Chicago, IL majoring in psychology
with a pre-medicine concentration. In my future, I hope to become a physician
of Osteopathic Medicine to become a family physician and ultimately open a
community health center that offers health education, community awareness
events, counseling, and low-cost medical services to underserved communities. I
have been on two previous Alternative Fall Break trips: to Louisville in 2012
and Indianapolis in 2013 and both of these had tremendous impacts on my college
experience and my future career goals. As a trip leader this year I can only
hope that every member of our team will walk away having learned something new
about our social issue or even themselves, and for our team to have a super FUN
and enjoyable experience!!
