skip to content

Community Outreach

Alternative Breaks - Week Long Trips

Hartford, CT/NYC, Immersion Week March 6-14, 2010 (Spring 2010 Trip)

APPLY here

General Program Information
Issue Focus: LGBTQIQ Social Activism & Well-Being
Cost of Trip: $240.00
Student Trip Director(s): Paul Grabowski, Trip Director (uconn.co.lgbtq@gmail.com)
Acceptance of Applications: TBA
Application Deadline: November 7, 2009 at 4:30pm
Notification of Participation: November 14, 2009
Trip Leaves: March 6, 2010
Trip Returns: March 14, 2010

** Price will vary based on program expenses and fundraising efforts.

Discussion of the Issue:

The most effective ingredient in bringing acceptance of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered community to today's society is raising awareness. Major cities are home to a significant portion of the LGBT population. As a result, these cities harbor many organizations now at the forefront of the battle for acceptance. Hartford is home to organizations like HGLHC (Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective) which offers Hartford's LGBT community a vast amount of medical and mental health services, support groups, social groups, education, and information to raise awareness of the struggles while creating a safe place for the community to call home. New York City has been a mecca for many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered lives. Harboring such major organizations as HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and being the birthplace of many influential groups as ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power).

This trip will end at the True Colors Conference, a conference dedicated for queer youths and professionals who work with them, at the University of Connecticut. True Colors Inc. will be celebrating its 17th annual True Colors Conference in March of 2010. The True Colors Conference is the worlds largest LGBT youth conference bringing in over 1000 local LGBT youth and professionals and offering over 100 comprehensive workshops. The conference creates a safe and fun environment for its participants to feel welcome, accepted, and to be among those who may be facing similar struggles.

Trip Preparation

Alternative Breaks are a full immersive experience and require a large commitment during the trip as well as before and after the experience. Each trip will hold MANDATORY Pre-Trip Meetings to prepare for the trip and become educated on the social issue. Education is one of the three critical components of an alternative break and allows participants to understand the reason for their service-learning experience. Meetings are generally held once a week leading up to the trip and run on average about an hour and a half. Participants will meet to discuss educational materials, trip logistics, fundraising efforts, and to participate in group builders.

Trip Logistics

Trip planning is headed by the student trip directors and occurs in the first months of school. Trip Logistics are gone over more in depth as you are selected for the program and begin attending pre-trip meetings. This is a major part of pre-trip preparation is ensuring all participants are on the same page with trip logistics. Here are some standard trip logistics that most experiences have:

Trip Length: Week
Cost of Trip: $240.00
Amount of Pre-Tip Meetings: 8
Mode of Transportation: Driving: MiniVans
Amount of Participants: 12 Students, 1 Student Leader, 1 Staff
Food: All groups generally cook most of their meals themselves. However, sometimes the agencies that we work with will do the cooking for us and provide us with all of our meals for the week! Most of our meals are simple to create a full immersive experience.
Sleeping Quarters: The majority of our trips “rough-it” and generally sleep on floors of churches, on cots, and sometimes in beds. We require all students to bring sheets, blankets, and their own pillows for the most part unless the agency supplies these amenities. Sleeping quarters are separated by gender unless extenuating circumstances arise.
What to Bring: (Sample packing list COMING SOON!)
Activities (Social & Service): Each trip has a healthy balance of service and social activities and down-time. Service generally takes up 6-8 hours of each day. Each trip has one social day where the group can go out and explore around the city they are in doing agreed upon activities by the group. Nights provide time for reflection activities and rest & relaxation as well as an opportunity to get to know your group even better!
Sample Schedule: Coming Soon!

TO APPLY, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

More Questions?

« Back to top