Kyle Vey Leads Alternative Service Break to San Francisco Focusing on LGBTQ Youth and Homelessness

Photo: Point Scholar Kyle Vey and students from North Carolina State University volunteer at GLIDE in San Francisco for Alternative Spring Break

My Community Service Project (CSP) for the 2013-2014 school year involved taking a group of students from North Carolina State University to San Francisco, California in order to help the homeless and work with local LGBTQ youth. The goal of the project was to engage the students so they would be inspired to continue to help these populations back in Raleigh. The project involved a semester and a half of planning and budgeting. Service organizations, such as GLIDE Memorial Church and Project Open Hand, were contacted before the trip in order to set up times for the group to serve and prepare meals, as well as sort clothing for homeless youth. At GLIDE, we worked directly with the homeless community of San Francisco while providing them lunch and dinner. Many of our group members said that this was the most impactful volunteering they had ever done. At Project Open Hand, we also prepared meals and learned the importance of a sterile environment due to many of the clients having compromised immune systems. Additionally, some educational and discussion opportunities were organized at the Durham Rescue Mission and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Personally, my goal was to be a better team leader, building on the feedback he received previously. I focused on being a more open, personable and reflective team leader. I have now led this trip twice, and this one turned out to be an even better experience than the first. I am confident that I was at least able to bestow them all with a greater knowledge about the homeless and youth LGBTQ communities and what they can do to make a difference.