While most students were relaxing during the winter break, a group of 18 students from the child advocacy group Rescue Childhood volunteered for eight days in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Rescue Childhood worked with Niños del Camino, an organization that attempts to aid the growing population of "street children" in Santo Domingo.

"It was really eye-opening," Ashley Waddell, president of Rescue Childhood, said. Waddell co-founded the club, which was granted organizational status in the fall.

"Street children" are all male adolescents who are considered a burden to society and are abused by the Santo Domingo police. Most of the children have heavy addictions to huffing glue, and some are addicted to cocaine, Waddell said.

Female children are not on the streets because it is too dangerous; most women are sold into prostitution centers.

Waddell said the existence of the street children is a result of "broken homes" and "extreme poverty" in the country.

For the majority of the trip, Rescue Childhood worked closely with the children, offering alternate activities -- such as relay races and baseball games -- in an attempt to get them off the street. They also fed the kids and brought gifts to an orphanage.

Lauren Merian, co-founder of Rescue Childhood, said one of the greatest obstacles of the trip was the language barrier.

"I don't speak any Spanish," Merian said. "It was really frustrating. I had to find different ways to communicate, like using facial expressions."

Waddell said the joining of cultures was the theme of the week. "The slogan was 'together our dreams will become reality,' " she said.

In addition to donating its time, Rescue Childhood raised nearly $11,000 for Niños del Camino. The donation will make it possible for a house to be built, which will save 24 children from a life on the streets.

"Raising the money was hard," Anne Laux (junior-science) said. She said many other causes on campus, especially the Interfaternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, made it difficult to get individual attention.

Laux said she thought the money was going to a good cause.

"I felt confident that everything we had done was supporting a really worthy cause," she said.

Waddell said she was most impressed with the work of the volunteers on the trip.

"The students on the trip were 100 percent into the work," she said.

Merian said the trip gave her a greater appreciation for her life in the United States.

"When you come back home and look at your room, you realize how much stuff you have," Merian said. "So much unnecessary stuff."