SNHU Serves
What is Alternative Break?
The Southern New Hampshire University Alternative Break program sends groups of 10-12 students on week-long service trips over winter and spring break. The service done on these trips relates to a specific social issue. Alternative Break combines strong issue education, direct service, and reflection for a life-changing experience. Alternative Break is a completely student-led experience. Each trip has two student leaders who plan trip logistics, educate their peers about the social issues their trip will address, and lead reflection activities throughout the experiences.Our ultimate goal is to move students along the Active Citizen Continuum, as developed by Break Away, the national organization for Alternative Breaks. We work in partnership with community organizations around the world to create immersive service experiences that will lead students on a path to active citizenship while helping to create sustainable change for communities in need.
Who are the students?
Students involved in the SNHU Alternative Break program come from a wide range of majors and academic disciplines. They are first year students and seniors, commuters and residential students. They share one thing- a desire to make a difference. Participating in the Alternative Break Program provides them a chance to hear new perspectives while learning about pertinent social issues that impact their communities.2015-2016 Alternative Break ProgramThe first SNHU Alternative Break trip was in 2004. A small group of students went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to work with Habitat for Humanity. Over the past ten years we’ve learned a lot, made significant improvements to our program, and have continued to grow. This year we’ll send 50 SNHU students on four different trips. It’s our biggest year yet. The four trips we’re offering are:
- Breaking the Cycle: Empowering through Education in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic
- No More Damsels in Distress: Fighting Gender-Based Violence in Miami, Florida
- The Color of Poverty: Examining the Intersections of Race & Poverty in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Community Development and Clean Water in Santa Julia, Nicaragua
How Can You Help?
One of the biggest barriers to student participation is cost. Our trips range from a few hundred dollars to almost $1000 per student. Your donation supports:
- Travel costs
- Housing
- Food
- Service project materials
- A service-learning opportunity of a lifetime
Every dollar you donate goes directly to our students to help them fund their trips. Thank you for your support!
Seventy-five percent!
Update (#3) – November 06, 2015
Our trip coordinators wrote a song for everyone who has donated so far. Thank you all so much! Please keep sharing our link. Every dollar donated goes directly to helping students fund their service trips.
We blew past our 25% goal- next stop 75%!
Update (#2) – November 06, 2015
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Please help us continue to raise funds by sharing the link to our campaign!
Thank you!
Update (#1) – November 06, 2015
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far to our first-ever crowdfunding campaign! We are all so grateful for your generosity.
Our winter break trip groups are working hard to prepare for their trips. The students getting ready for the No More Damsels in Distress trip attended a panel presentation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month last month and learned so much from local organizations working to end domestic violence. Meanwhile, the group getting ready for the Empowering Children Through Education trip have been busy creating lesson plans and learning some basic Spanish in anticipation of their time in Dominican Republic.
We're still hoping to reach our goal of $5,000 before our campaign winds down. If you can help us by sharing the link (https://impact.snhu.edu/serve) we would be very grateful!
Thanks again,
Elizabeth, Rachael, and Katie-Leigh