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Community Outreach

Alternative Breaks - Week Long Trips

New Orleans, LA, Immersion Week March 6-14, 2010 (Spring 2010 Trip)

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General Program Information
Issue Focus: Disaster Relief
Cost of Trip: $570.00
Student Trip Director(s): Tim Callaghan, Trip Director (uconn.co.springrelief@gmail.com)
Ashley Hazelton, Assistant Trip Director (uconn.co.springrelief@gmail.com)
Acceptance of Applications: September 10, 2009
Application Deadline: PASSED
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:

On August 25, 2005 the Gulf Coast was hit by one of the country’s most devastating hurricanes. The effects of both Hurricane Katrina and Rita will be felt for years to come. Community Outreach is committed to assisting the regions in their cleanup efforts and rebuilding efforts. Due to the rapid changes in the area, the exact location of the trip will depend on our community partners down south. Efforts will include cleanup efforts and possibly rebuilding efforts. Many people are doing their part to help restore New Orleans. It is important that it reaches its former glory, rather than let is succumb to its watery grave. The group will travel down in a charter bus and will sleep in dormitory style setting. All expenses are covered with the basic program cost.

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: $570.00
Amount of Pre-Tip Meetings: 8
Mode of Transportation: Driving: Charter Bus
Amount of Participants: 50 Students, 6 Student Leaders, 5 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!

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