Alternative Breaks are service-learning experiences supporting alongside the community to seek a more equitable and inclusive society. Alternative Breaks are designed to heighten participants’ awareness of critical social issues, enhance their individual growth, and prepare them for lifelong social action.
Community Outreach uses the following Nine Components from our national partner organization, Break Away, to create high-quality, consistent, and meaningful experiences for all of our participants:
Direct Engagement: Programs should develop projects identified by community assets and needs and in conjunction with community partners.
Full Immersion: “Alternative breaks provide participants with an opportunity to live in line with community, program, opportunities for individuals to consider ways of aligning values and actions regarding choices about the alternative break experience. Strong programs develop and communicate philosophies and corresponding practices around how participants will approach these topics during an alternative break”
Identity-Consciousness and Equity: “Alternative break programs include participants representing the range of students present in the campus community. Leaders recruit for, design, implement, and evaluate their program with this end in mind. Strong programs engage participants in dialogue that furthers understanding of how systems of power, privilege, and oppression relate to social issues and service work in communities. This deepened awareness enables students to do more responsible, sustainable, and impactful community work.”
Orientation: Prior to departure, participants are oriented to the mission and vision of the community, community partner, or organization(s) with which they will be working.
Education: Effective education provides facts and opinions from all perspectives on the issue, including ways that participants’ personal life choices are connected to the social issue.
Training: Participants are provided with adequate training in skills necessary to carry out tasks and projects during the alternative break. Ideally this training will take place prior to departure, although in some instances it may occur once participants have reached their site.
Reflection: During the alternative break, participants are encouraged to reflect upon the experience they are having, synthesizing the direct service, education, and community interaction components. Time is set aside for this to take place both individually and as a group.
Reorientation: Upon return to campus, participants transfer the lessons learned on break by identifying local organizations for continued education or service, sharing their experience to raise awareness of social issues, and by organizing or joining other small groups to take action on local issues through direct service, advocacy, and/or philanthropy.