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The Alternative Breaks Program, sponsored by the Student Activities Center (SAC) at The George Washington University (GW), is part of a national movement among colleges and universities with the mission of providing students alcohol and drug-free opportunities to engage domestic and international communities through “hands on” experiences during academic breaks to promote active citizenship and life-long learning.

Alternative Breaks 2008-2009
Check 'em Out!

We're excited that you're viewing this page...and we have some awesome Alternative Break options for YOU!  We have service-based trips led by your peers scheduled for Winter Break and one for Spring Break.

Winter 2009 (January 3-10)

Trip Destination: San Ignacio, Belize

Trip Focus:  Participants will be working on constructing a school.  Participants will also have the opportunity to partake in cultural activities throughout Belize including visiting the ancient Mayan Ruins of Caracol and the caves of Actun Tunichil Muknal.

Trip Destination: Koke’e State Park, Hawaii

Trip Focus:  Participants  will be working in the jungle to control the invasive species as well as other activities promoting the healthy growth of the beautiful jungle.  Participants will have the opportunity to experience the breathtaking natural beauty of the park as well as the beautiful beaches that Hawaii has to offer.

Trip Destination: New Orleans, Louisiana

Trip Focus: After Hurricane Katrina the city of New Orleans was left in seemingly disrepair.  Participants have traveled for the past several years to New Orleans, constructing homes and rebuilding this amazing city.  Since our last trip to New Orleans, there is now renewed sense of need in the city, after the impact of Hurricane Gustav.

Spring Break 2009 (March 14-21)

Trip Destination: Greensburg, Kansas

Trip Focus: In May 2007, a tornado struck western Kansas subsequently devastating 95% of the town of Greensburg.  Over Spring break 2009, we will work with volunteer organizations to aid in the relief effort.  Not only will we lift the hopes of the townspeople through restoring devastated areas, but we will also collaborate with the Greensburg GreenTown Project, which is working to make this town the first in the United States to be built in an environmentally sustainable fashion.  We will combine service, the values of a sustainable lifestyle, the importance of cultural activities and group reflection to ensure that we make this week a remarkable experience and an inspiration for a lifetime of service.

Trip Destination: Crownpointe, NM

Trip Focus: The Alternative Spring Break trip to New Mexico is a once in a lifetime experience. Ten students will travel to Crownpointe, New Mexico and live and work with the Navajo Nation during spring break. Each student will have the opportunity to live in a homestay with other students and a family from the Navajo Nation. Concurrently students will be working side by side with community members on projects that the community most needs at the time. The idea of community service to this group is quite different. Because so many people flood to the reservations to volunteer, as this is the only chance one has of gaining entrance to a reservation, oftentimes the volunteer work is more overwhelming than helpful. The community prefers that volunteers learn about their culture and bring it back to our homes rather than have a physical job with a visual change such as building a home or serving soup to the homeless. Students will do everything from tutoring children in schools to hearing community members such as farmers etc talk about their daily lives and jobs. This intimate trip is one that will be remembered forever.

Trip Destination: Camp Hope, New Orleans (88 Students)

Trip Focus: For the 4th year since visiting the hurricane-ravaged area of St Bernard’s Parish and the 9th Ward of New Orleans, GWU will be returning to continue the rebuilding process.  Join nearly 100 of your peers for a life-changing week.  Inspire the residents of this incredible city through your dedication to service and the city’s rebirth.  Become inspired by the stories, the attitudes, the humility, the bravery, and the hospitality of so many of the great citizens of New Orleans.  During the day we will be working with Habitat for Humanity at various sites assisting in the rebuilding of communities in and surrounding downtown New Orleans.  In late afternoons and nights we will go and experience the culture and sights that make New Orleans the unique city that it is. Look forward to Cracker Barrel, Home-Cooked Cajun food, Rock and Bowl, Swamp and Ghost Tours, the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, Port of Call, Jazz in Frenchmen Street, and so much more!

Trip Destination: Appalachia, West Virginia 

Trip Focus: Participants will be working with The Folk Life Center doing home repairs, building painting, yard work and other activities that may be needed when participants arrive to the site.  Participants will also have the unique opportunity to participate in cultural activities with the people who live in the Appalachia region.

Trip Destination: Atlanta, Georgia (10 Students)

Trip Focus: Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'  Join us as we seek an answer to Martin Luther King Jr's query in his own home-town of Atlanta, Georgia.  One of the major centers in the Civil Rights Movement, Atlanta still faces grave social and economic problems.  In Atlanta county, over 25% of all youths live in poverty, and in the districts where we will be working in as many as 50% of the children will not finish high school.  Working with the program Essential2Life, we will spend our week tutoring, playing and building relationships with "at risk" poor urban youth, as well as working on community housing projects and homeless shelters.  We will also have the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Dr. King, as well as the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site.  We will also be visiting other tourist sites such as Stone Mountain and the World of Coca-Cola Museum.  Come with us to experience a vital part of American history and culture, and "to see a generation of urban youth more beyond physical and spiritual poverty to discovery their life purpose