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GREENVILLE — More than 75 students and staff from East Carolina University will spend spring break serving others in local communities across three states.

ECU’s Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement will partner with local community organizations to provide opportunities for students to address a variety of social causes through the Alternative Break Experience program.

ECU’s spring break begins this weekend. Classes will resume March 16.

In Greenville, ECU students on a “staycation” will work Saturday through Wednesday with community partners focused on youth and nutrition. Students will stay at Peace Presbyterian Church and will serve in local community gardens, tutor and mentor youth, and volunteer with the Police Athletic League and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain.

This is also the 10th year that ECU students will volunteer with the N.C. Coastal Federation to do environmental work including oyster habitat restoration and project maintenance in Carteret County and Atlantic Beach. Students will bunk at Camp Albemarle from Sunday through Thursday.

Additional trips will take students to: Asheville and Atlanta to work with the LGBTQ community; Columbia, South Carolina, to work with youth in the juvenile justice system; Raleigh, to explore citizenship; Washington, North Carolina, to work with women leading change; Washington, D.C., to address youth empowerment and urban development; and to Wilmington, to work on homelessness and hunger. A group of 13 Honors College students also will be traveling to Asheville to participate in cleanups and maintenance with RiverLink, a nonprofit environmental group.

“We are excited to continue this long-standing tradition at ECU, adding some new experiences this year in Raleigh and Wilmington,” said Tara Kermiet, associate director in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. “Our partnership with the centers and offices within intercultural affairs and the Honors College help us provide such enriching learning experiences for our students.”