Our Crowdfunding Groups
Spring 2022 Alternative Breaks Participants in Memphis, TN.
What are Alternative Breaks?
The Alternative Breaks program is a transformative service-learning experience that began in 2008 at Iowa State. This program places teams of students in communities across the United States to engage in community service during Fall and Spring Break. Students perform short-term projects for various service agencies while learning about the local community and the social issues that impact them. Previous trips have focused on such issues as housing insecurity, food insecurity, disaster recovery, environmental conservation, rural poverty, and others.
Spring 2022 Alternative Break Participants in New Orleans, LA.
"This experience has connected me more with my community and the university because I was able to meet students with completely different backgrounds and different reasons for participating. I was able to learn a bit about each of their stories and personalities which helped me feel more connected in this community."
- Spring 2022 Participant
Why We Are Fundraising
The Memorial Union Student Engagement office is committed to making this experience as affordable as possible for all students. The funds raised through this campaign will go toward covering trip expenses such as travel, lodging, food, host site fees, and more. These funds would also be used toward establishing a financial assistance fund for any student who may not have the means to pay the trip registration fee and the establishment of scholarships for our student trip leaders.
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"I feel that my connection to the community was strengthened from this trip because I met so many great people from different backgrounds and was able to have meaningful interactions with all of them. It was a great way to become more educated about others' experiences."
-Spring 2022 Participant
Alternative Breaks History
The Iowa State Alternative Breaks program began in 2008. Since that time, 83 trips have traveled to 30 different destinations across the United States to work with 40 different service agencies. Over the years, more than 800 students have participated in the program, learning about various social issues and developing skills that will help them identify and address issues in their own communities.
A map of all Alternative Breaks service locations since the program began in 2008.Student Impact
The Alternative Breaks experience makes a significant impact on the student participants. The data and testimonials below were collected from the Spring 2022 participants:
Spring 2022 Alternative Break Participants serving with Serve901 In Memphis, TN."I have always sought to bring social change and justice to the communities that I am involved in, but this experience further solidified this passion and inspired me to seek non-profit work for the future."
- Spring 2022 Participant
Donating $50 can help fund an educational activity for an Alternative Breaks team, such as visiting a local museum to learn more about the community they're working in and the social issues they face.
Donating $150 can cover the cost of one full registration fee for a student participating in a Fall Alternative Breaks trip.
Donating $250 can cover the cost of one full registration fee for a student participating in a Spring Alternative Breaks trip or the cost of lodging for two Fall Alternative Break participants.
Donating $500 can cover almost a week's worth of groceries for one of our teams or cover the registration fee for two spring participants.
Donating $1,000 to Alternative Breaks could help cover the cost of lodging or transportation to one of our service sites.
Donating $2,500 could cover all of the expenses for a Fall Alternative Breaks trip.