Spending Spring Break with the Chimps
By Marissa Pena
There’s always a lot of excitement in the weeks leading up to spring break! After the stress of midterms, it’s the perfect time to rest and recharge. While plenty of college students spend that time vacationing or relaxing with friends, others take the opportunity to experience something new.
Spring break is also a fantastic opportunity to volunteer for a cause through volunteer vacations or an alternative spring break! If you’d like to learn more about alternative spring break opportunities for college students at Project Chimps, just keep reading!
What is an Alternative Spring Break?
While some people might just think of it as an extended vacation, there are other ways to experience spring break! Alternative spring breaks arose as an option for people to serve their community or support a cause they’re passionate about.
Although you can participate in an alternative spring break right at home, it’s also pretty common to travel someplace new! For example, Habitat for Humanity offers their Collegiate Challenge experience year-round with different location opportunities depending on project need. Some people even take the opportunity to volunteer in an entirely different country — also known as voluntourism.
These alternative spring breaks can be a really great way to make a positive impact, and that’s always super exciting! However, there are some guidelines to keep in mind when volunteering abroad to avoid causing accidental harm. Generally, it’s better to pursue short-term commitments during a volunteer vacation, and comprehensive research beforehand is always important.
Spring Brachiate at Project Chimps
Many organizations offer their own specialized short-term alternative spring break options specifically for college students, and so does Project Chimps! Every year, we hold two Spring Brachiate opportunities for college students interested in volunteering with us. It’s a great opportunity to experience life at our chimpanzee sanctuary first-hand, especially for people from out of town!
During the experience, groups of about 4-6 college students can learn more about our chimps and how we support them. There are so many different areas to explore, and there’s truly something for everyone who wants to get involved! We offer opportunities to help with preparing food, creating enrichment, gardening, and even looking after the bees in our apiary.
Although Spring Brachiate takes place over five days, one day is left open to explore off-site activities in the area. This can include hiking our Chimp Trails, visiting the nearby lake, or exploring some of the local shops and eateries! There’s plenty to do, and we offer suggestions to anyone looking for help planning their volunteer vacation with us!
Who can Participate?
Spring Brachiate is open to all current college students over the age of 18. Those not enrolled in college who are still interested in volunteering with us can explore our Chimpcation opportunities instead!
There’s no prior experience required, but we do ask all our volunteers to complete the training modules we provide. Additionally, we also require proof of current tetanus, covid, and flu vaccinations to prevent zoonotic disease risk for the chimpanzees. For the full list of travel tips and common questions, check out our trip resources here!
Enriching the Lives of Chimpanzees
By participating in our Spring Brachiate opportunity, college students can make a difference in the lives of former research chimps. Although there’s no direct physical contact with any of the chimpanzees in our care, there are plenty of opportunities to see them in the outdoor habitat!
We’re always excited when people want to volunteer with us, but we understand that not everyone lives nearby. We hope opportunities like Spring Brachiate and Chimpcation can make volunteering with us a little bit more accessible.
We’re truly grateful to all the people who have spent their vacations and time off volunteering with us! Thanks to their support, we’re able to achieve our mission to provide these former research chimps with exemplary lifelong care. We could not do it without their hard-work, dedication, and genuine love for our many residents. Thank you for all that you do to support our mission and to support the chimps!
To learn more or sign up for one of our Spring Brachiate or Chimpcation volunteer vacation opportunities, click here!
