Volunteer Resource Center

It’s been 20 years since Alternative Breaks (AB) first launched at CU Boulder. We have maintained the student-centered and led nature of our program and sent groups of students seeking to become active citizens to communities around the country, and world. The choice for Site Leaders to spend six months training, planning, and organizing trip details to facilitate an experience for participants is one of commitment and servant leadership. Our participants have chosen to spend their spring breaks learning, serving and reflecting on how to impact the range of social and environmental issues that impact communities around the world. 

Despite the challenges of the past couple of years, we are excited to share some positive news about Alternative Breaks. We are in the process of recovering from the pandemic and rebuilding our program to its full strength and size. With a new program manager on the team, we are launching new initiatives such as the Living and Learning Community and the PALS peer-mentor program, to develop a pipeline of leaders in service.

Our Site Leaders have been hard at work since October, receiving training in program logistics, risk management, social justice, and leadership. We also organized a new fall retreat that simulated the AB travel and cooking experience, which was well received by our group. We received over 100 applications for AB participants, but due to the number of Site Leaders, we could only accept 40 students to engage in our spring break offerings. We are exploring innovative ways to fund the growth of our program and to support the interest of our student participants. 

Although our environmental conservation program in Catalina Island had to be canceled due to overwhelming rain and flooding in California, we successfully completed three other programs. Our Nevada group worked with two community partners: The Just One Project and Three Square, packaging fresh food for their Southern Nevada neighbors and preparing after-school lunches for over 1,000 people. Our Louisiana group partnered with SBP in New Orleans to refurbish a home and start framing affordable housing units. Meanwhile, our Tennessee group spent the week at Horse Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, helping to maintain the sanctuary for their native wildlife, and care for abandoned and abused dogs at their onsite shelter. 

As we look forward to another great year, we are committed to expanding our program and providing meaningful service opportunities for our participants.

“Alternative Breaks was an imperative part of my undergraduate experience. Opening my home to host a group of CU AB students was an opportunity that I could not miss. Not only did I get a chance to witness the power of AB from the outside-looking-in, but I was also reminded of the glaring societal issue within my local community that the trip’s participants were working within. Seeing a group of a dozen CU students visit my community to learn more and work within this issue really inspired me to reincorporate the AB philosophy of the ‘Active Citizen Continuum’ in my life. Not only did these students impact my community, but they had a direct impact on me as well. Hosting the trip's participants really made me critically think about my role in my community and how I challenge our social issues while also learning more about my communities’ local resources. As an alumni, please consider donating your time and/or resources to this program and to these students. Your impact does not have to end when you return to CU’s campus from your AB Trip. It can continually live on in your choices, efforts, and contributions.” 

-Madison Martin, BA '18

We sat down with Madison Cunningham, a junior studying International Affairs, to discuss her most recent spring break service experience.

VRC: So tell us about what you did this spring break?  

M: I went to YMCA Camp Campbell, it’s 30 minutes north of Santa Cruz, California. It’s an outdoor science camp for fifth graders. The [students] are still in school but the week that they come to the camp they’re doing outdoor school… So from Tuesday to Friday we’re hiking, doing archery, we’ll do a river study, they have a habitat house where they keep their fish and turtles and snakes…so all the kids get to have a fun, relaxed learning environment.

VRC: What made you go to Camp Campbell this spring?

M: Last year I was a Site Leader for Alternative Breaks where we planned our trip for youth education to Camp Campbell. It felt amazing to be on that trip and to be with that group…we had this amazing group compatibility…it was me and three other participants from last year that got together and decided to volunteer again this year. 

It was amazing and you could still feel that group compatibility with just us four; the entire time we’re laughing and it was just a nice get-away from reality because you’re not on your phone [and] you don’t have to worry about homework…

VRC: Since your initial connection with Camp Campbell was through Alternative Breaks, what would you recommend to students interested in learning more about AB?

M: Definitely do it! It is a process where you need to start early, especially if you want to be a Site Leader. 

I think that Alternative Breaks gives you…it tests your own skills on how well you can build friendships in a limited environment like being in a van or volunteering. And so you learn a lot about yourself as a team leader and also, in my instance, as a leader…This is probably one of the only chances in your college career that you’re going to get with a group that has the same passions as you and volunteer.

VRC: What’s one thing you want people to know about Alternative Breaks?

M: For me personally, Alternative Breaks really shifted my mindset, my motivation in college because coming out of the pandemic, feeling so isolated…AB just really shifted that perspective for me. Even though for my group last year, we made that positive impact on a group of fifth graders, we also made an impact on ourselves and just finding people that we can lean on and have the same passion in volunteering…some people say that the most important thing is to make that positive impact on the community, what I think people don’t talk about often enough is that you can build your own community and do that [too].