Alternative Breaks

Educate. Serve. Reflect.

Student Involvement supports Alternative Break (AB) experiences which are week-long or weekend immersive service experience. A group of students travel away from campus with the goal of engaging within a new community through education, service, and reflection.

AB trips focus on various social issues such as racial justice, environmental justice, housing, healthcare, poverty, and more. By forgoing traditional academic breaks, students have the opportunity to participate in quality, community-based transformational service and dedicate their time to learning and interacting with different communities.

Got Questions?

Contact Emily Harris
Assistant Director of Leadership and Community Engagement

Virtual Information Sessions

Important AB Dates

All Applications Open:
August 12, 2024
Fall Stay-Break Application Closes:
October 4, 2024
Spring Break Application Closes:
December 6, 2024
Trip Leader Application Due:
October 18, 2024

2024 - 2025 Trips

Fall Stay-Break:
November 15-17, 2024
Spring Break Trip:
March 9-15, 2024

Transcript

Sustainable Development Goals

Each Alternative Break focuses on a specific subsection of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning our efforts with global initiatives for positive change. For more information, please check out the .

Participants & Trip Leaders

Participants

Trip Participants are held to a high standard and adhere to the expectations of the AB program as a whole. These expectations include:

Be willing to serve with an openness to learning and addressing the community needs first.
Represent the University of North Georgia, the Office of Student Involvement, and the Alternative Breaks program in a mature, responsible, and positive way at all times.
Be open to processing, at your own comfort level, the Alternative Break experience individually and as a group through reflection.
Attend Pre-Trip Meetings, the Alternative Breaks trip, and Reorientation. These meetings and trainings are provided to enhance student learning and ensure quality service experiences for participants and the community partners.
Fully immerse yourself in the Alternative Breaks experience and participate in all aspects of the Alternative Breaks program, which includes service work, reflections, projects, meetings, and reading assignments, etc.
Commitment to the Alternative Break “no drugs or alcohol” policy
Be in good judicial standing and have no active student conduct cases at the University of North Georgia.

Trip Leaders

Trip Leaders (TLs) are one of the most crucial pieces of the Alternative Break (AB) program. As a student-led program, AB takes pride in our leaders and the rich experience they bring to this para-professional role of the program.

As a trip leader, you will take an active role in educating and leading peers through a service experience focused on a social issue that you are passionate about.

TLs are held to a high standard and expected to:

Adhere to all trip participant expectations and cooperate and collaborate with the Alternative Breaks Advisor, co-trip leader, and trip partners
Meet regularly with the program advisor and co-trip leader (if applicable) to discuss and plan certain aspects of the trip.
Remain flexible, open-minded, and responsible.
Educate yourself and participants about the issue relative to your site and plan and execute all pre-trip meetings for trip participants.
Build positives relationship with the designated site and select AB participants on your break.
Commitment to the Alternative Break “no drugs or alcohol” policy
Must be a sophomore (30 + credits) or higher
3.0 G.P.A. minimum
Be in good judicial standing and have no active student conduct cases at the University of North Georgia.

FAQs

What makes these trips “alternative”?

Alternative breaks are just that - an alternative to your academic breaks. The breaks give students an opportunity to meet new people, learn new things, and to step away from all the hustle and bustle of normal life. Alternative Break trips are entirely drug and alcohol-free, thus providing an “alternative” option to traditional spring break and weekend activities.

How do I apply?

All applications are to be submitted online through �� Connect. You may want to type your essay answers into a separate document and paste them into the online form. Please ensure that you answer all questions thoroughly as there is a high interest in participating on these experiences. Please note that Trip Leader and regular Participant application may have different deadlines. Applications will be made available for the trips at the beginning of the academic year (fall semester).

Are there any prerequisites for applying?

There is no prerequisite to apply, all enrolled �� students on any campus may apply. However, there are specific requirements for applying for the trip leader position. Individuals may not participate if they are not fully enrolled in the university at the time of the trip. We only ask that students interested have no active student conduct cases open and are in good judicial standing at the university to participate.

How many people are selected to go on each trip?

Typically, we have a 10-12 participant limit for each trip.

Strong applicants who are not admitted to a trip will be placed on a waiting list and will be admitted on a space-available basis.

When will I know whether I have been accepted?

Students will be notified within 1-2 weeks after application submittance up until the application deadline of if they have or have not been selected. Students are not interviewed to be a part of the trip, so it is important for students wanting to participate to have a strong application. If the trip is filled, students can go on the waitlist. If there are spots that become open, then students will be reached out to via email or phone.

How much does it cost to go on a trip?

Trips have varying costs based on housing, food, transportation, and programming supplies specific to each alternative break location and service. The Alternative breaks programs works hard to cover the majority of the cost for student participants. Previous trips have tended to stay around $50. The program commitments to provide low-cost service-learning experiences for students.

What is included in the trip costs?

Payment covers housing, food, transportation, and programming supplies. The only items that are not covered include meals during travel and any items that a person might purchase for their personal use, i.e., a souvenir, any forgotten items such as a toothbrush, etc.

What is the time commitment?

For Spring Break Trips groups will have 4-5 weekly meetings before their trip to prepare. For Stay-Break trips groups will have 1-3 weekly meetings before their trip to prepare. These weekly meetings will be an opportunity for team-building, preparing for the trip, as well as learning about the focus of the trip and any educational elements that participants need to know before the trip. Following the trip, participants will meet a minimum of one time for a reorientation event/meeting to reflect on the trip.

Pre- and post- trip meetings are required as participants will be provided with policy and procedure information regarding the trip and activities so that they can be prepared for the experience. If a student cannot attend one or more pre-trip meetings, they must arrange make-up meetings with the Trip Leader or Program Advisor to review material and information covered.

Do I have to be there for the entire trip?

Yes, participants are expected to be present for the entire duration of the trip.

Where do we typically stay?

The group may be housed in religious buildings, hotels, community centers, community houses, camps etc. Our program encourages simple living, which is the principle that students are encouraged to live a more simplistic lifestyle while on an AB to fully commit themselves to the experience.

AB Program History

During the 2017-2018 academic year, thanks to funding from the �� Presidential Award Grant, the Alternative Service Break (ASB) program was created. The program started off as a co-curricular service-learning program that worked to expanded community engagement opportunities for students at the University of North Georgia. ASB educates students about social issues and communities in need through a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity with the goal of developing students into active citizens. To ensure the reciprocal benefit, the trip was intentionally designed to provide strong direct service, orientation to the social issue and site, education, training, reflection, reorientation, and diversity, while remaining alcohol and other drug free.

In the infancy of the program the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic started and ASB stopped formally hosting trips. The program was able to be restarted in the year 2023 under new advisory leadership and officially rebranded to Alternative Breaks (AB).

The revamped programmed added a greater emphasis on connecting student’s social identities to their service experiences and helping them better understanding underlying social issues and deepen their awareness of critical societal challenges.This included incorporating the UN Sustainable Development Goals into the program.

Past Trips

Spring Break 2024: Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation - Selma, Alabama
- SD Goal: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Spring Break 2023: Earth Kin (Once Upon a Time) - Walland, TN (Great Smoky Mountain)
- SD Goal: Life on Land
COVID-19 Break 2020 -2022
Spring Break 2019: Foxfire (Appalachian Culture Education) Clayton, GA
Spring Break 2018: Foxfire (Appalachian Culture Education) Clayton, GA
Spring Break 2017: Lula Lake Land Trust – Lookout Mountain, GA

Mission & Vision

Mission

The University of North Georgia Alternative Break program empowers students to engage in immersive service-learning experiences and foster a more equitable and inclusive society through education, reflection, and service. We create community-conscious and educated students who are committed to pursuing social issues and positive social change in diverse communities.

Vision

Our vision is to cultivate a community of socially conscious and educated students who collaborate to address critical social issues and contribute to a just and thriving global society. We strive to expand our collective identity as a multi-campus institution to unite our students in our on-going mission of creating meaningful and positive impact as community collaborators.

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