For most University of Wisconsin students, the end of the semester marks the beginning of a month-long hibernation punctuated by the occasional party and obligatory family get-together.
For 90 UW students participating in this year’s winter Alternative Breaks program, however, that hibernation will be awakened by a week of service work at sites ranging from the Florida Everglades to San Juan, Texas.
Beginning in January, participants in the program will head to one of seven locations across the country to work on projects that focus on issues like hunger and homelessness, immigration, the environment, community outreach and other unmet human needs.
“It gives students opportunities to not only provide service but also to have an educational experience outside of the classroom,” said Shannon Chaplo, a UW senior and director of the Alternative Breaks Committee.
Chaplo said the service projects are designed to mutually benefit both students and the communities in which they volunteer. She added the Alternative Breaks Committee chooses a wide array of volunteer locations that deal with issues appealing to students of all majors.
Among the locations where students will be volunteering this winter is a “wet shelter” in Boston that provides services and housing to people with substance abuse problems.
UW senior Alexandra Molitor, who participated in the Boston trip as a junior and is organizing the trip this year, said she had the opportunity to connect with people she would not normally have a chance to interact with.
“I didn’t really know anything about addiction, so it was really eye-opening,” Molitor said. “We got to make relationships with the homeless people that were staying there.”
Students who volunteer at the shelter are housed on the premises and their duties include preparing three meals each day for residents, cleaning the shelter and organizing donations.
Another destination this winter is San Juan, Texas, a city of low-income residents situated near the Mexican border. Volunteers in San Juan will work for an organization called La Uni?n del Pueblo Entero, founded by human rights activist C?sar Ch?vez to assist immigrants in building their communities and overcoming the linguistic and economic obstacles they face in the United States.
Maggie Boomgaarden, a UW senior, said she volunteered for Alternative Breaks in San Juan as a sophomore for the opportunity to speak Spanish with immigrants and volunteer outside of Madison.
Boomgaarden and other participants canvassed the neighborhood for LUPE, traveled to a border town in Mexico, worked with migrant workers and visited the highly controversial border wall separating Mexico from the United States.
“People get so touched by what you’re doing and you feel like you’re actually doing something great,” Boomgaarden said. “It’s an experience you’re not going to forget for the rest of your life.”
In recent years, the Alternative Break Committee has also incorporated more environmental trips into the program. During this session, a group of students will travel to the Everglades to remove invasive species and improve trails, and in the spring, the program will include two sites for students to work on organic farms and one site to work on sustainable energy building projects.
