Spring Alternative Service Break 2013
This upcoming Spring Break, the Center for Volunteerism and Social Action will be organizing 12 teams to service across the United States and the Pacific Northwest.
- Spring ASB applications are due on November 30 by 5pm and can be found here.
- Team Leaders: Applications due November 30 by 5pm and found here.
The Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) program brings students together and gives them the chance to challenge themselves and develop as leaders while helping others in communities across the U.S. and internationally. Learning is at the forefront of the ASB experience. Students have the opportunity to not only volunteer but learn about social justice issues and possibile solutions as well as learning more about themselves. By engaging students in hands-on direct service, ASBs allow individuals to reflect on the impact they can have on communities. The ASB program places a heavy emphasis on critical thinking and reflection, turning a passion for volunteering and "doing" into a lifelong commitment to civic engagement.
Each ASB project and location is grounded in specific social justice issues which have included rural and urban poverty, race, domestic violence, access to housing, homelessness, food security, sustainability, education, gender and disaster recovery.
Begun in 2001, the ASB program has seen immense growth following the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. In the spring of 2006, more than 60 students traveled to Waveland, Mississippi to help that community rebuild. In the spring of 2007, the ASB program expanded dramatically.
Over 100 students and advisors spent spring break either in the Gulf or Appalachian regions of Tennessee. In 2007, the program sent a then record number of volunteers to 10 different locations over spring break and expanded to inlude the first international team of 28 volunteers to Cai Cay, Peru over Winter Break.
As of the Spring 2011, the University of Idaho has had ASB teams serve with local communities in 25 states and 10 countries.
This Winter, four ASB teams will be serving in Cai Cay, Peru - Pittsburgh, PA - Quito, Ecuador and Atlanta, Ga. This upcoming spring break the Center will be sending out 12 teams spread throughout the United States.