Lead ~ Serve ~ Learn
Mason's Resource For:
Trip Sites & Information
Geographic trip locations and topic vary each year depending on student interest. CLCE staff assists students in coordinating AB sites to meet the desires of the student groups participating in AB trips. Listed below are past student led AB trips. Take a look to get some ideas on where you would like to go and what issues you would like to tackle on your AB trip!
Apply now for an Alternative Break!
Winter Break 2010
Applications Due Friday, October 2, 2009
Rebuilding - New Orleans, LA
Participants will assist in rebuilding homes in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana that were damaged when the levees broke in 2005 following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Participants may also assist with community development projects such as gardening and social outreach programs. Despite it being over four years after the hurricanes, rebuilding in the Lower Ninth Ward has lagged substantially behind other neighborhoods because of poverty, the high levels of devastation in the area and inaction on behalf of government officials.
Cost: $350 apx.(Includes lodging, airfare, ground transportation and meals)
Spring Break 2010
Applications Due Friday, October 16, 2009
Youth Education and Community Building – Guatemala
The Kamalbe School is a non-profit organization providing its volunteers the opportunity to improve their Spanish while immersed in the world of Guatemalan culture. Kamalbe translates to -Spiritual Guide- from Kiche. Students will support some of the poorest communities in Guatemala through volunteer projects organized by the school. Volunteer projects include teaching English, art, and music in primary schools and educating about health risks in nearby medical clinics. We hope volunteers will bring their individual skill set to the Quetzaltenango (Xela) area to better the lives of community members in its rural villages. At Kamalbe Spanish School, all of these opportunities are at the fingertips of its volunteers!
Participants are required to have elementary to intermediate level Spanish speaking skills. Participants must have a valid passport.
Cost: $700 apx. (Includes lodging, airfare, ground transportation and meals)
HIV/AIDS Issues - New York
HIV/AIDS is still growing in the US and abroad. In DC the rate is 1 in 20 infected and climbing. Participants on this trip will work with organizations that provide services to clients with HIV/AIDS and their families. Work can include providing prevention information to at-risk communities, organizing an AIDS Walk, and brightening the day of those infected through music concerts.
Cost: $400 apx. (Includes lodging, ground transportation and meals)
Conservation - Stuart, FL
On the edge of the everglades in Stuart, Florida, participants will learn about this unique ecosystem while repairing mangrove forests, repairing park trails and possibly building a bridge that can withstand hurricanes!
Cost: $500 apx.(includes lodging, airfare, ground transportation and meals)
Habitat for Humanity- Portland, Maine
This year we will be in Portland, Maine working with Habit For Humanity as a part of the Collegiate Challenge program. Participants will help build houses for families in need.
Cost: $540 apx. (includes airfare, ground transportation, meals and lodging)
City Year- Philadelphia, PA
Help revitalize Philadelphia with City Year, an organization that teams young leaders with community needs.
Participants will paint murals at different metro stops and develop a service event for City Year’s Young Heroes Program, a weekend leadership development, social awareness, and community service program for high school-aged youth.
Cost: $500 apx. (includes ground transportation, lodging and meals)
Summer 2010
May 22-29, 2010
Applications due Friday, November 20, 2009.
Community Building- El Salvador
Through this trip, participants will develop strength and solidarity as they work for the betterment of a developing Central American community. Working with a community in El Salvador through Project Fiat International, an organization run by the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, participants will “leave the comfort, efficiency, and competitiveness of their culture, to enter to some extent into the values, experiences, and limiting circumstances with which billions of the world’s people live” (www.acjusa.org). Potential service opportunities include building houses, working at a health clinic, and helping children in after-school programs.
Because of the work environment, we regret that individuals with peanut, shellfish, or iodine allergies cannot participate in this trip.
Participants must have a valid passport.
Cost: $1300 apx. (includes airfare, ground transportation, lodging, and meals)
