Alternative Breaks Program Celebrates Milestone

Established in 2006, the Alternative Breaks program is celebrating its 15th anniversary. An Alternative Break (AB) is a week-long or weekend immersive service experience in which a group of 10-12 students travel away from campus during breaks from school and engage with a new global community through education, service and reflection. The Alternative Breaks program has served 93 different communities through 192 trips in the past 15 years.

During the pandemic, the program had to adapt and still provide meaningful service opportunities while ensuring the safety of the students and those they served. AB offered Stay Breaks in the Statesboro and Savannah communities. In March, the Armstrong Stay Break Team volunteered at the Code of Return composting site in Savannah. The sustainability project creates compost from food scraps collected from restaurants and other businesses.

Throughout the Alternative Breaks program’s 15 years, students have helped communities overcome challenges while bettering themselves in the process. Taylor Bishop, who served as a Statesboro Stay Breaks leader noted, “I personally think AB trips, no matter the distance, are one of Georgia Southern University’s premier leadership opportunities offered. The trips are well-developed, issue forward and engaging. How did the AB program make service and learning this much fun?”