Alternative Breaks

Students pose with LVC banner during community service trip to Arizona

Alternative Breaks

The Department for Service & Community Engagement offers at least two Alternative Breaks every academic year, providing students with the opportunity to fulfill their Immersive Experience requirement. The program incorporates civic engagement, community involvement, and unique service projects. These experiences vary annually, offering students opportunities for service learning in local, domestic, and international settings.

Upcoming Trips

February 28鈥揗arch 5, 2027 (Spring Break): Washington, D.C.
Participants will engage in a number of service opportunities with organizations on the front lines of the fight to end homelessness, increase access to affordable housing and create a healthy, sustainable and accessible food system that is equitable for all. Specific service opportunities will vary for each program, but all programs include a mix of direct and indirect service as well as learning about advocacy and listening to personal stories of homelessness.
May 2028: Puerto Rico

PAST TRIPS

Northern Ireland

March 2023

In Belfast, LVC students served in youth centers that have existed for many years to help meet the needs of young people and keep them safe. Team members also heard from powerful speakers representing different political and religious backgrounds who shared their unique experiences from the period of The Troubles.聽聽 With 2023 marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, LVC students also had the chance to join local youth in painting a new mural on one of the Peace Wall gates.

The Navajo Nation

January 2023

LVC students and staff traveled to Tuba City, AZ, to learn about Navajo life and culture and to work on a community-led service project. Service included helping with building improvements, assisting with community events and clean-up projects, and other initiatives with a manual labor component. Students also explored the natural beauty of the area on group hikes.

映画传媒 Rights Virtual/Local: Bolivia and 映画传媒 County

March 2022

This virtual service-learning trip allowed students to connect remotely with Bolivian non-profit organizations that provide teaching on human rights, education, and health. Many of the organizations focus on work with youth with disabilities, children鈥檚 issues, education, and conservation, among other human rights issues. Students then connected with local non-profit organizations to explore these topics as they exist here at home. They also participated in a variety of hands-on service projects related to these topics.

Brazil and 映画传媒 County

May 2021

Although we weren鈥檛 able to travel due to the pandemic, this combination virtual/local service trip gave students the chance to compare and contrast issues of public health in various Brazilian communities with those that exist here at home. Local opportunities connected us with 映画传媒 Family Health Services, 映画传媒 Free Clinic, Habitat for 映画传媒ity, Wellspan Health, Mission Central, and more.

Washington, D.C.

March 2020

LVC students explored the history, causes, and consequences of homelessness, food insecurity, and “forced displacement” in the U.S. through dynamic service-learning at a wide variety of community and non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C. Through hands-on service, discussions, and interactions with speakers, participants compared the strengths and limitations of emergency food and housing programs, federal food and nutrition assistance, and community-based approaches to organizing for change.

Peru

May 2019

Students traveled to Peru for a week of service and cultural immersion. Living in Misminay for most of the trip, the group taught English to children and built and planted a greenhouse in order to establish a sustainable food source for the community. The group also visited Machu Picchu.

Dominican Republic

January & March 2019

Students traveled to Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic to work with Outreach360, an organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities to underserved children in Latin America.

Puerto Rico

May 2018

Students participated in a week of environmental restoration as they cleaned up and replanted mangrove forests following Hurricane Maria. They also painted a school and delivered basic care items to local residents.