Spring Break
Community Outreach Reaches Out
Sarah Kopman-Fried
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Focus
Many of the Community Service Days are held in conjunction with efforts by other groups on campus, especially fraternities and sororities, said Farley. This sort of a volunteering experience is recommended for students who may have time open and want to use it to volunteer on a one-time basis.
Alternative Breaks:
Known around campus for going down to New Orleans to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, the Alternative Breaks program has worked hard to bring students new offerings this semester.
"This year we're looking to take students to volunteer in Boston, New York, Bridgeport, Washington, Philadelphia and the Gulf Coast," said Allyssa Milan, the coordinator for Alternative Breaks. "We're even trying to organize a trip to the Southwest so students can volunteer on a Native American reservation."
According to Milan, Alternative Breaks trips give students a chance to learn about concepts like poverty and social justice, while seeing firsthand some of the difficult living conditions that affect Americans everyday.
"It was an incredibly powerful experience," said Milan of her own experience on an alternative break trip to Biloxi, Miss. "It really changed my entire life."
The Office of Community Outreach recommends Alternative Break trips for students who have a significant amount of time to commit to not only to the trip, but also to taking a weekly preparatory class beforehand. Alternative Break trips cost anywhere between $70 and $250 per trip.
Semester Long Programs:
The largest of the Community Outreach undertakings, semester-long programs are for students who really want a long-term volunteering experience.
"One of the things I'm most proud of is that we managed to get 800 students to study in semester long volunteering programs last year," said Farley.
These efforts include projects like tutoring at Connecticut schools to teach middle school students how to better read and write, according to Nebrat. A great deal of the semester long programs are also done in conjunction with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Programs.
Special Projects:
A newly defined area, the Community Outreach Special Projects include volunteering efforts that may take longer than a day, but are not necessarily an entire semester.
"These projects are for students who want something in between," said Farley. "Maybe you can't commit to a whole semester. That's ok. Maybe you can work with us for a few weeks."
Contact Sarah Kopman-Fried at
Sarah.Kopman-Fried@UConn.edu.
Alternative Breaks:
Known around campus for going down to New Orleans to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, the Alternative Breaks program has worked hard to bring students new offerings this semester.
"This year we're looking to take students to volunteer in Boston, New York, Bridgeport, Washington, Philadelphia and the Gulf Coast," said Allyssa Milan, the coordinator for Alternative Breaks. "We're even trying to organize a trip to the Southwest so students can volunteer on a Native American reservation."
According to Milan, Alternative Breaks trips give students a chance to learn about concepts like poverty and social justice, while seeing firsthand some of the difficult living conditions that affect Americans everyday.
"It was an incredibly powerful experience," said Milan of her own experience on an alternative break trip to Biloxi, Miss. "It really changed my entire life."
The Office of Community Outreach recommends Alternative Break trips for students who have a significant amount of time to commit to not only to the trip, but also to taking a weekly preparatory class beforehand. Alternative Break trips cost anywhere between $70 and $250 per trip.
Semester Long Programs:
The largest of the Community Outreach undertakings, semester-long programs are for students who really want a long-term volunteering experience.
"One of the things I'm most proud of is that we managed to get 800 students to study in semester long volunteering programs last year," said Farley.
These efforts include projects like tutoring at Connecticut schools to teach middle school students how to better read and write, according to Nebrat. A great deal of the semester long programs are also done in conjunction with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Programs.
Special Projects:
A newly defined area, the Community Outreach Special Projects include volunteering efforts that may take longer than a day, but are not necessarily an entire semester.
"These projects are for students who want something in between," said Farley. "Maybe you can't commit to a whole semester. That's ok. Maybe you can work with us for a few weeks."
Contact Sarah Kopman-Fried at
Sarah.Kopman-Fried@UConn.edu.
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