Alternative Break

To ensure meaningful and memorable trip experiences for all participants and leaders, the Alternative Break Program at University of New Hampshire adheres to the Eight Components of a Quality Alternative Break as described by?Break Away?.??The combination of direct service, social issue education, and daily reflections during the trip result in the most successful and transformative Alternative Breaks.

• Strong Direct Service: Programs provide opportunities for participants to engage directly with community members through hands-on projects and activities. Projects are informed by community identified assets and needs in conjunction with community partners.

• Full Engagement: Alternative breaks provide participants with an opportunity to live in line with community, program, or trip specific values. Programs should create opportunities for individuals to consider ways of aligning values and actions with regard to choices about the alternative break experience. Examples include: accommodations, food, team selection, technology, transportation, packing, and spending money. One clear example of Full Engagement is the Alcohol & Drug-Free component inherent within alternative breaks. Strong programs develop and communicate philosophies and corresponding practices around how participants will approach these topics during an alternative break.

• Diversity and Social Justice:?Alternative break programs include participants representing the range of students present in the campus community. Leaders recruit for, design, implement, and evaluate their program with this end in mind. Strong programs engage participants in dialogue that furthers understanding of how systems of power, privilege, and oppression relate to social issues and service work in communities. This deepened awareness enables students to do more responsible, sustainable, and impactful community work.

• Orientation: Before, during, and after the alternative break experience, participants and leaders engage in discussions designed to introduce the communities, organizations, and projects with which they are engaging, and to explore the trip itinerary and get to know one another.

• Education: Pre-trip activities and readings provide?a framework of intersecting perspectives developed to help participants understand the root causes and effects of social issues, provide context for the issue as it relates to the host community, and?connect participants¡¯ personal life choices and experiences to the topic.

• Training: Throughout the entire alternative break experience, participants and leaders receive adequate training in skills necessary to carry out service activities during the trip.?Leaders receive additional training to prepare them for the experience of facilitating a positive trip experience for peer participants. Ideally, participants gain life-long skills that provide them with opportunities to engage in their community upon return from the trip.

• Reflection: Leaders will engage the?team?in daily reflection discussions and activities,?synthesizing service, education, and community immersion components.?Time is set aside for this to take place individually and as a group, and occurs both organically and through structured activities

• Reorientation: Back on campus, leaders and participants have the opportunity to share their experiences with others and transfer lessons they've learned through continued education, service, advocacy, and/or philanthropy. Participants reflect on how to make informed choices moving forward that benefit others.