Alternative Service Breaks are trips that students are able to go on during the winter and spring vacations with the main goal being service for those in need.
During these trips students go to different communities with the intention of providing service to people there, said Andrew Blake, ASB student coordinator.
This year winter, ASB trips will be sent to Peru, Romania, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. In Peru, students will work with an afterschool program in a rural and largely indigenous village. They will work and play with local students and volunteer their time to address issues surrounding poverty and access to education, Blake said.
Students selected to serve at a community center in Romania will focus on the needs of orphans, women and families.
In San Francisco, ASB team members will partner with community organizations to address issues of hunger, homelessness and HIV/AIDS outreach work.
Students in Pittsburgh will work to address issues surrounding homelessness, racial inequality and urban poverty during their time.
ASB trips are subsidized by UI, but there is some cost to students. For winter break, international trips cost $1,200 and domestic trips are $600. Blake said there are possible fundraising and financial aid opportunities for students.
“If your main concern in applying is that you can’t afford it, we will work as hard as possible to make that possible,” he said.
After returning the application an interview will take place to make sure the teams that are put together will work well and grow together, and that they will challenge each other Blake said.
He said it is important to have an environment where people will push each other out of their comfort zones but are safe in doing so. Blake has participated in two ASB trips.
“They exposed me to a lot of issues that have better showed me privileges that I was not aware of growing up,” he said. “I think that is a really powerful thing to come in contact with and I think those are discussions that are hard to have in your day to day life.”
The experience provides students with the opportunity to get outside their comfort zone and experience different communities, but do so in a purposeful and structured manner, he said.
“I think part of the beauty of ASB trips is that you are doing it with your colleagues, you’re doing it with people from all walks of life,” Blake said. “The amount of community that you form with each other to help each other get through the experience and learn as much as possible is really amazing.”
Many students think that they must have participated in the spring ASB trip before they can do a winter trip, but Blake said this is not true and many students take their first ASB trip during the winter.
“(ASB trips) are one of those things that I tell students you have got to do while you are a student,” he said. “Everyone needs to apply, start sooner rather than later because you are going to want to do more once you get started.”
Applications to participate in winter ASB can be found online at uidaho.edu/volunteer and are due Oct. 4.
Emily Aizawa can be reached at [email protected].