UT students will volunteer in five communities during next week’s spring break. This semester’s Alternative Break trips will round out the 188th trip in the program’s history.
Seventy-seven students and staff members will depart campus Sunday, March 12, and return Saturday, March 18.
The program is coordinated through UT’s Center for Leadership and Service. Student trip leaders select the themes and locations for each trip. Here’s a look at the various Alternative Spring Break projects:
Savannah, Georgia
Students will travel to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center to learn about the importance of symbiotic living between humans and animals. Students will serve at a location that offers hands-on animal experience and teaching by expert staff members.
Louisville, Kentucky
Students will learn how poverty, education, and justice play a role in wealth distribution. Students will work with the homeless, hungry, and those in need at the Louisville Rescue Mission and the Family and Children’s Place, a program that helps homeless families find and maintain stable housing.
Birmingham, Alabama
Students will work to improve the developmental journey of youth by working with them at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Alabama and the YWCA.
Charleston, South Carolina
Students will learn about the problems shared by women, LGBTQ, and racial minorities. Students will work with People Against Rape, a rape crisis center, and My Sister’s House, a nonprofit organization that provides help to domestic violence victims and their children.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Honors students will address food shortages in Raleigh by working at the Neighbor 2 Neighbor Community Garden and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
Since the inception of the Alternative Breaks Program 24 years ago, it has logged more than 33,500 service hours from more than 2,350 students. The volunteer hours equate to $772,845 in donations to community partners.
Contact:
Katherine Saxon (ksaxon@utk.edu, 865-974-8365)