How to Reward Yourself and Others All At Once
- Sarah Winn
- Dec 6, 2016
- 2 min read
Take the alternate route.
Colleges all around the U.S., 217 of them to be exact, provide students with the opportunity to travel and serve the community during Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring, and May breaks.
These opportunities are called alternative breaks.
They’re affordable, ranging from about $250-$1,000, depending on where you decide to travel. They’re a great learning experience, giving you a new perspective on life outside of your school and hometown bubble. And, they’re fun, allowing you to build relationships with those from your college and other communities around the world.
In the $250-$1,000 that you’re paying, food, housing, and transportation for the week are all included. If that still seems to be a little much, scholarships are available for those with extra financial need and programs usually work to raise funds throughout the year to cut the cost even more.
Specifically, alternative breaks aim to connect campuses with communities that are in need and ultimately teach those involved that serving, even if only for a week, can make a huge impact and be very rewarding.
Break Away, the alternative break headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, has helped students all around the U.S. tally a total of 1,837 trips to destinations from Hawaii to Chile. They focus on issues including environmental stewardship, education, disability awareness, and basically anything that you may be interested in advocating for.
The overall experience is something to feel good about, too. You get to spend the day serving, which can involve an abundance of tasks including chopping up trees, serving meals to veterans, or helping with childcare. Then, at night, gather around the bonfire or dinner table to reflect on what you accomplished and learned through your experience—a great opportunity to build relationships and new friendships with everyone who contributed.
Fortunately for James Madison University students, the Alternative Break Program offered on campus is one of the most established in the U.S. and students often return to Harrisonburg feeling changed in the best way.
With the hectic society of 2016, this type of interaction is difficult in everyday life and is truly something to cherish on your break from schoolwork and any other stressor you may be dealing with.
Within the past 25 years, students on alternative breaks have served a total of 1.3 million hours and helped 2,593 different communities all around the world (PDF).
It’s a movement. It’s rewarding. Go alternative.
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