What is the Alternative Break Program (ABP)?
Do you want to make a difference during your breaks from school?  ABP trips are organized to domestic locations to explore social justice themes.  Trips help students think critically about their role in the global society through service, activism, inquiry and leadership.  Students are challenged to step out of their comfort zone while giving back.

 Vision

RMU’s Alternative Break Program encourages students to become active citizens and life-long learners by immersing students in diverse communities throughout the country.

 Goals

• Immerse participants in a new cultural context.
• Raise awareness about social justice issues, the structures that perpetuate them and potential solutions.
• Engage participants in meaningful service.
• Connect the Alternative Break trip with issues in the local community.
• Encourage personal reflection through the lens of service.

Program Details

Alternative Fall Break

The Alternative Fall Break trip is a short excursion that focuses on hunger and homelessness in the City of Pittsburgh.  The annual trip is held on the weekend before Thanksgiving, allowing students to spend the beginning of their holiday break making a difference in our community.

On this trip students will:

• Spend time volunteering with and learning about various nonprofits that address hunger and homelessness in the Pittsburgh region
• Have the opportunity to interact with less-fortunate community members through outreach efforts at the different service sites
• Participate in various service projects such as preparing food at a local soup kitchen, distributing food at a local food pantry, sorting and distributing daily necessities at a homeless outreach center, etc.
• Reflect upon their experiences in relation to issues of social justice, community, and culture

This "mini-break" experience allows students to participate in an Alternative Break without making a huge time commitment--a great option for individuals with a very busy schedule!

Want to participate in this year's AFB?  Fill out this application! 

Interested in becoming a AFB Site Leader?  Fill out this form too!

 Alternative Spring Break

The Alternative Spring Break Program continues to evolve to reflect the interests of RMU students.  In recent years, groups of students and staff have traveled to:

• Washington, D.C. to address hunger and homelessness by working in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, transitional housing units, and food pantries
• Birmingham, Alabama to build affordable housing for the working poor with Habitat for Humanity
• Atlanta to do flood relief work and visit the Civil Rights Institute
• Appalachian Mountains in southwest Virginia to do home repair for the rural poor

This year, in March of 2012, students will travel to:

• Youth Service Opportunity Project in Washington, D.C. to participate in service addressing hunger and homelessness (www.ysop.org)
• Southern Appalachian Labor School in Kincaid, W.V. to volunteer in service projects addressing rural poverty and sub-standard housing (http://www.sals.info/)

Interested in participating in an Alternative Spring Break Program?  Click here for an application!

If you are interested in becoming a Site Leader, fill out this form, and return it to the OSCE!

In essence, there are two elements to the program - the community service and the immersion into the local community and culture.  It is our hope that students will begin to understand and think critically about social justice issues in a greater context.

Be a Site Leader

Each trip is led by a team of two student Site Leaders.  While two staff members accompany each trip, the real leaders of the trips are the student Site Leaders.  Site Leaders go through extensive training before the trips to prepare them for every element from finances to conflict management.  Site Leaders lead reflection exercises and become advocates for social change when they return to campus.