There will be no wet T-shirt contests, body shots or beer bongs during this year's spring break.

That is, at least, for the small percentage of Penn State students choosing to forgo the traditional week-long drunken odyssey and spend their time volunteering instead.

The Penn State chapter of Habitat for Humanity is sending 122 students to eight southern cities where they will build low-cost housing for low-income families.

In Columbus, Ga., the group is planning a "blitzbuild," said Jay Peffer (senior-information sciences and technology), spring break co-director. Twelve universities will send 270 students to the area to build 10 houses in five days, he said.

Site supervisors with construction experience will oversee and teach students -- most of whom have no previous experience -- the skills they need, Peffer said.

"We've had people using power tools that had never seen them before," he said.

Peffer, who is making his third trip this year, recalled one student to whom the experience made a big difference. He said she had no friends and wanted to leave Penn State prior to joining the organization.

"[Becoming involved] saved her life, because she was pretty down about it," Peffer said.

Christian Student Fellowship is heading to Miami, where 20 of its 80 spring breakers will also be working for Habitat for Humanity. The rest will be volunteering at an inner-city rescue mission, said Senior Campus Minister William "Buzz" Roberts.

While in Miami, volunteers will prepare daily meals for the poor and homeless, and work in a warehouse that sells inexpensive clothing and household goods. Students will also baby-sit for single mothers taking General Educational Development classes and play sports with children as part of an after-school program, Roberts said.

"We're going to be blessing somebody," he said. "But, in return, we are blessed ... for being used as an instrument of God."

Another religious group volunteering for spring break is the Penn State Catholic Community's Project Haiti. The group is sending 23 students and two parents to the impoverished city of Pandiassou, Haiti, to help an indigenous Catholic group with various development projects, said Club President Lillian Panico (senior-media studies).

After flying to Port-au-Prince, the trip involves a bumpy, four- to seven-hour ride through dry, mountainous terrain just to get to Pandiassou, she said.

Once there, students volunteer at a health clinic, teach English, help at an orphanage and learn native cultural practices such as making peanut butter, fishing with nets and molding pottery, Panico said.

She said many parents are cautious about letting their children go to a place like Haiti. "Our news portrays Haiti as a terrible place," she added.

Panico said the country has many problems with disease, crime, deforestation and poverty, but individuals gain a more complete perspective after the trip.

She said it is a worthwhile and rewarding experience on many levels.

"I've met some of the most amazing people of my life," Panico said.

The official Alternative Spring Break Club (ASB) is sponsoring five trips this year. Small groups of students are traveling to Boston, New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and rural Virginia to deal with a variety of issues, ranging from AIDS awareness to domestic violence, said club president Kate Konkle (senior-human development and family studies).

"Nothing really compares to the experience you get on ASB," said Konkle, who has gone on the trip for the past three years.

She said the opportunity to meet new friends and gain a feeling of accomplishment makes the trip an easy choice for most participants.