Not your average spring break
OUR STUDENTS | Spring break rarely conjures up images of students with hammers, rebuilding homes damaged by national disasters, or standing before a classroom, leading activities for homeless pre-school children.
And yet, for the fifth year now, more than 1,000 undergraduates have participated in the University of Delaware’s Alternative Breaks (UDaB), a student-led program in which they spend their spring break (and/or Winter Session) giving back to places in need—not for class, not for credit, but for others.
Take, for instance, Tommy Margiasso, EG16, who spent a week last spring constructing raised-bed gardens for residents in Philadelphia with community partner, Urban Tree Connection.
“You don’t really understand the types of social issues that are out there until you’re put into an environment that struggles with one every day,” he says. “One week of service allowed me to learn not just about how we can help areas in need through teamwork and motivation, but also a lot about myself and how much I enjoy getting involved at a community level.”
Since its launch in 2011, UDaB has grown from 92 to more than 300 students this year, with 13 sites across the country and beyond, including a recent partnership with a community development organization in Nicaragua.
This spring, students will work with early literacy programs in Washington, D.C., domestic violence shelters in Lexington, Kentucky, and nonprofits supporting homeless populations in coastal Maine—to name just a few.
To learn more about UDaB and how you can support the program, visit www.udel.edu/002949.
