While many college kids were spending spring break drunk in Florida, some Howard University students chose to spend their spring break performing community service in Detroit.

According to the Detroit Free Press, 42 Howard University students chose to volunteer in Detroit last week, while some students volunteered around the country, with others even traveling as far as Haiti to offer their services:

On what Howard calls alternative spring break, the Michigan group has shuttled from a Salvation Army warehouse to church outreach sites to public schools, to teach reading to adults, mentor teens, do manual labor and even help pre-schoolers learn to brush their teeth. Seeing Detroit’s urban blight, particularly in blocks near schools, was “a humbling experience,” said Brionna Hines, 18, of Ft. Washington, Md.

“I could’ve gone home, but this way I get a chance to travel and a chance to make a difference in somebody’s life,” said Jasmin Fitch, 19, of Atlanta, a Howard University freshman.

Through their community service, the students were able to see the condition of Detroit up close and personal.

“On one street we went down, almost all the houses are either abandoned or burned down,” said 18 year old Howard University student Brionna Hines.

“I thought of my own high school. There was nothing like that,” she said.

The students also spent some time at Head Start, inspiring preschoolers. The group of HU students still made sure to set aside some time visit Hitsville, USA, the Motown museum.

Please subscribe to Your Black World by clicking here. Also, please join Dr. Boyce Watkins and Min. Louis Farrakhan for a forum on “Wealth, Education, Family and Community” at the Forum Arena at The University of Illinois at Chicago on March 30. You can get your free reservation to the event by clicking here.