Frostburg State University Office of Civic Engagement

04/30/2023

We had a great time at Relay tonight! Many thanks to everyone who joined us, donated, and fought back against cancer

04/17/2023

Join us for ! We’re making blankets, pillows, and dog and cat toys today and tomorrow. All items will be donated to area non-profits.

Participate in 3 events this week and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a university store gift card!

03/01/2023

Tired of reading why you should donate to our fund on ? That's fine! Here's a video from Jacob Carder, Junior, on why he attended our Alternative Break trip and the impact it made on him!

To donate, use this link https://give.frostburg.edu/bobcat-giving-day-2023/?a=6231025 and select "Alternative Break Fund" as your designation.

We currently have a matching challenge going--for every donor one of our staff is donating $1 (up to $150)!

03/01/2023

officially kicks off in less than 30 minutes!

Maddox Hancock, senior, details below his experience and how your donations can help students have a life-changing experience on a future Alternative Break Trip. To donate, use this link https://give.frostburg.edu/bobcat-giving-day-2023/?a=6231025 and select "Alternative Break Fund" as your designation.

"I wanted the chance to learn more about communities close to me in an immersive way without feeling like a tourist. Going to Louisiana on the Alternative Winter Break promised a really meaningful experience that allowed me to make real change for folks in need. We had the honor of rebuilding a damaged home that is to become a community center for the Biloxi-Chittamacha-Choctaw tribe in Houma, Louisiana. Like many residents of rural Houma, tribe members were scattered all across the South by the last hurricanes to hit the region. Having a cultural center to distribute resources, teach the language, and host gatherings is going to help them achieve federal tribal recognition.

In no uncertain terms, I am poor. And I’m not really an outlier, either: Frostburg is home to a lot of low income students due to its accessibility-oriented tuition prices. Because of the generosity of the school and its donors, what would have been a $1,500 trip cost me $150. Even that was a hard sum to scrape together, but for the life lessons I learned, it was worth it. Anything that folks can do to make this amazing opportunity affordable for students like me puts a lot of good Karma out into the world- nobody who goes on this trip comes back and doesn’t want to keep serving their community. It was really refreshing to expand my skills in a direction that they usually never are. I wasn’t put on the spot, I was part of a team, and sometimes that meant digging around in fiberglass insulation for 4 hours. I loved every second of it."

03/01/2023

is upon us! Chikamso Ezeaku, first year student, had this to say about his experience on this year's Alternative Break trip. To donate, use this link https://give.frostburg.edu/bobcat-giving-day-2023/?a=6231025 and select "Alternative Break Fund" as your designation.

"Instead of staying home and doing nothing, I wanted to have an impact. During the trip, we fixed a hurricane-damaged home. I had the opportunity to install flooring, dry wall, mud, and sand, all of which I learned about on the trip. My exposure to hurricane-related damage came from the trip. The trip made me reassess my major because it felt good to work with my hands, in addition to boosting my motivation to volunteer more. I would attend again if given the chance. It feels so good to make a difference in someone's life alongside people you've just met, so I would definitely recommend this trip to other students.
Donations to alternative break trip projects in the future would most definitely inspire more people to share the experiences that my friends and I had. The time I spent collaborating with the home owner to lay the flooring is my favorite travel memory. I felt as though I was working with my late grand dad all over again during that time. One of the most memorable parts of the Hurricane Katrina exhibit was listening to the news reports on the day of the hurricane and seeing how the superdome served as a shelter even though it was completely packed."

02/28/2023

It’s almost and the Alternative Break Fund needs your help!

The fund that has the most donors (donations must be $20 or more) will earn an additional $10,000! Whatever we fundraise, we keep BUT an additional $10,000 will make a huge difference when we plan future trips!

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be sharing videos, write ups, and re-posting from our trip so you can see what your donation will go towards!

Are you an Alternative Break Trip alumni? Share below your favorite memory, share this post to encourage others to donate, and then don’t forget to donate yourself to help us continue making these special trips a reality for future FSU students!

Be sure to select “Alternative Break Fund” in the designation line! Bobcat Giving Day ends March 2 at noon so be sure to donate before then!

https://give.frostburg.edu/bobcat-giving-day-2023/?a=2253575&fbclid=PAAabJfWuaGdlVHDLLUS_ASLqSmiXuNrmuiDS18ZLtKZEGD6vnJXXz3B5Gt5k

Join me and make a gift to 2023 Bobcat Giving Day

01/25/2023

Free Workshop!
On April 24, we invite you to experience West African dance and rhythms with the artists of Cirque Kalabanté. Guinea’s vast cultural traditions include celebrations accompanied by dance, song and rhythms of percussion. Whether Mendiani for young girls, Soli, which accompanies rituals of manhood, or Konkoba, which encourages farmers in their work, traditional Guinean dance invites joy and awakens the senses. This workshop is open to all, and no previous experience is required.

Participation is limited; reserve space online https://bit.ly/3HgNeJl

Sponsored by Thomas Automotive

01/25/2023

It's back again! Free produce at City Place this Thursday from 11am - 1pm courtesy of the Maryland Food Bank and Frostburg Parks & Rec!

01/14/2023

Our post from last night didn’t post to Facebook for some reason so here’s the link to Instagram!

You can follow there as well

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnV0I5uM7Sz/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

01/11/2023

Day 2 in is complete! Our group split up today to work on three different projects around New Orleans and Houma, Louisiana! We’re all tired and inspired; the group has done a terrific job coming together and making an impact on the community.

Our first write up is from Oliver Vasquez, senior, Earth Science Major. Today was day two of service at our second location for a family that was impacted from Hurricane Ida that happened in August 2021. As a team, we worked in harmony and had a very successful day of service, where we hung up sheet rock and pulled out loose nails from the walls. After today, it was great to witness our hard work and see how much of an impact we are making for this family. We can’t wait till Thursday to complete this project and see the final results.

Our second write up is from JJ DeVoe, senior, Music Performance: Vocal Major. We went to the community center today and continued our work from yesterday. We split into a few groups and conquered some pretty significant projects. Hopefully, we will have a couple of rooms functional by the end of the week. We spent some time talking with the Elder Chief of the Tribe and learned about the battles she has fought for indigenous peoples in the area, caused by oppressive systems put in place by our Government. We learned about some of her traditions, and about how the center will facilitate the gathering of her people to protect and preserve their culture.

Last, but certainly not least, our third write up is from Maggie Walden, senior, Early Childhood and Elementary Education major. Today, my team went to a house in New Orleans to do some painting for a homeowner who needed some help. We worked with a group of volunteers from California who had already begun the project. We painted two sides of the home purple and updated the paint on the fence! We got a chance to meet the homeowner and heard just how grateful her and all of her children will be. This work is insanely rewarding and inspiring!

01/10/2023

We’re back in New Orleans! Each day this week, we’re going to have one student attending this year’s Alternative Winter Break write about our day!

Today’s write up is from Rachael Michalski, sophomore, Law and Society and Political Science double major.

After a smooth flight into New Orleans, Louisiana yesterday, our Alternative Break Team settled in, toured the city, and came together to begin an opportunity to serve a greater community, as Frostburg State students and staff where we were joined with those from Adelphi University in Long Island, New York. Today was day one of service. It was a full day where our big team dove in and was ready for action. We hung and took down sheet rock, mudded walls, cut lumber, and transported supplies to help us in this project. After a successful day one, we are excited to continue to serve the state of Louisiana!

09/19/2022

Our monthly produce giveway at City Place is back this Thursday at 11am! Stop by for some free produce!