Weekend Trips (Fall) / Winter Break Trips / Spring Break Trips / Weekend Trips (Spring)
Thank you for your interest in Alternative Breaks. Please see our update on how COVID-19 is affecting our programming here. Applications are open – apply here! Please see application deadlines below.
Questions? Please review the Alternative Break FAQ page and/or contact Kaitlyn Luft, the Alternative Breaks Staff Coordinator at kaitlyn.luft@uconn.edu.
SPRING SERVICE LEARNING GROUPS
Please see individual trip dates below.
Application Deadline: Thursday, February 4th at NOON
Civil Rights & Urban Poverty
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience, participants will explore civil rights and urban poverty. We will be working with volunteer organizations and discussing historical movements important to the civil rights movement. This immersive educational and service experience will challenge you to engage with critical social issues, develop communication and team work skills, and embrace the uncomfortable. Serve, grow, and inspire with other UConn students to create an unforgettable experience. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 24 participants, 2 student trip directors, 1 student team leader, and 1-2 staff
Participant Cost: $0; Team Leader Cost: $0
Trip Directors: Soumya Potu & Ryerson Hill
uconn.co.birmingham@gmail.com
Healthcare Access in Rural Communities
Trip Dates: March 19-22, 2021
During this virtual service experience, students will have the opportunity to learn about healthcare access in low resource areas and its relationship to rural poverty. We will specifically be learning about and engaging with local Indigenous and Native American communities while also fostering our long-standing relationship with the Cherokee Nation. This experience will be mostly virtual, but may include an in-state, in-person component, COVID permitting. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Director: Amisha Paul
uconn.co.oklahoma@gmail.com
Healthcare Access & Education
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience, participants will be working with healthcare related organizations and agencies in the surrounding area of UConn. This volunteering experience will prepare you to understand the structure and difficulties of healthcare in our county. Participants will confront what they know about the American healthcare system and work towards learning about popular alternatives and services. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Director: Lucas Knight-Vezina
uconn.co.philly@gmail.com
LGBTQIA+ Education, Identity, & Allyship
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience, participants will engage in education, advocacy, and identity development activities as it pertains to the LGBTQIA+ community. This experience will focus on violence prevention, harm reduction, advocacy efforts, and educational initiatives. We are also hoping to participate in the True Colors Conference that is usually hosted at UConn every year, either virtually or in person if possible. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Director: Alex Schaible
uconn.co.nystorrs@gmail.com
Community Development & Rural Poverty
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience participants will work virtually alongside local organizations, as well as those in Los Jazmines, Costa Rica & Cosby, Tennessee. This experience will raise one’s awareness surrounding community development, rural poverty, and the intersectional nature of both. We will look deeper into what community development means, the causes of poverty, as well as current struggles amid the COVID19 pandemic and the current state of the US economy. Reto Juvenil Internacional and Sunset Gap are typically two of our primary community partners for these two social topics. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Director: Eileen Holmes
uconn.co.costarica@gmail.com
HIV/AIDS Awareness & Advocacy
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience, participants will be working with agencies in the New York and Connecticut area that focus on supporting people affected by HIV/AIDS. In the past we have assisted with reducing harm for risky behaviors that can lead to HIV and created safe sex kits for outreach workers. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 student participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Director: Roger Watrous
uconn.co.newyork@gmail.com
Coastal Conservation & Protection
Trip Dates: March 12-15, 2021
During this virtual service experience, participants will come together for an immersive experience focusing on coastal environmental issues and environmental conversation at large. In the past, the group has worked on beach clean-ups, removal of invasive species, and planting eelgrass. This experience will have 4 meetings prior to the virtual weekend and 1 meeting after.
Trip Size: up to 12 participants, 1 student trip director, 1 staff
Participant Cost: $0
Trip Directors: Christina McDonnell
uconn.co.groton@gmail.com