Berea, Ky. -- You’ve heard of hip-hop and you’ve heard of “alternative spring breaks” where college students do service projects.  Put these together and you have the “Home Run Tour,” that will take inspirational hip-hop, R&B and some fancy dancing to residents of Salvation Army shelters, middle and high schools and other organizations.

Seven Berea College students who make up the band S.E.E. Him Ent. (Serve, Engage, Encourage) will spend five days during Berea College’s Spring Break,  March 26 – April 5, performing free and also doing service projects at each location such as neighborhood cleanup initiatives, recreational activities for youth and devoting quality time to elderly community members.

The purpose of the Home Run Tour, says leader Breon Thomas, a senior from Chattanooga, Tenn. who came up with the idea, “is to provide assistance and encourage communities through turbulent times, to motivate persons from all walks of life to keep the faith, and to convey the love of Jesus Christ for all of humanity.”

In a video on the Home Run Tour website www.breonthomas.net/the-home-run.php , Breon talks about what inspired him.  As a teenager, Breon lived for a while in a shelter in Atlanta, Ga.  He says he has never forgotten the positive effect on him of a volunteer who came there and taught recreational games and inspirational songs.  He especially remembers “Joy” an upbeat song with the lyrics “don’t let the Devil steal your joy.”  These experiences counteracted reminders outside the shelter, such as the big skyscrapers and people driving expensive cars, of just how poor he was, he says.

“Situations like that could have made me a very depressed and emotionally drained kid, but songs like ‘Joy’ kept me encouraged and let me know there was going to be a better day.” And there was.  Eventually, Breon moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., to live with his grandmother, finished high school and soon will graduate from Berea College.  “Now I have an opportunity to go back to the communities where I came from with service and music – and that’s what the Home Run Tour is all about.”

After an opening concert at Berea Community School on March 26, S.E.E. will hit the road, making stops at locations in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tenn. and Lawrenceville, Ga., returning to Berea April 5.

For more information about the Home Run Tour, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it