Sponsored by the Adele H. Stamp Student Union-Center for Campus Life, Alternative Spring Break is a week long, substance-free, community service-learning trip during the university's spring break. ASB participants travel in teams to different cities, engage in active service, and have the opportunity to gain new perspectives on social issues while meeting community needs, and learning about and building upon community assets.

Interested in an Alternative WINTER Break? Contact Sophie Tullier

History
Alternative Spring Break became a program at Maryland four years ago, sending three trips in its first year and seven trips in its second year. This spring (2008), ASB sent over 200 students and seventeen staff advisors to thirteen different locations, traveling in teams to locations across the country and internationally. Each trip focuses on a specific theme (such as Homelessness, Hunger, Disaster Relief, HIV/AIDS, Prison Reform, the experiences of Native Americans, Environmental Conservation), and participants learn more about that theme while working with community agencies in the area.

Click here to view pictures and videos of our 2008 trips.

2008 Trips
In 2008 ASB expanded the locations and themes while continuing to enhance the partnerships that have been established in years past.

• Rural Poverty: Appalachia
• Homelessness: Atlanta, GA
• Youth Arts Education: Boston, MA
• Hunger/Immigration/Affordable Housing: Chicago, IL
• Environmental Restoration and Sustainability: Key West, FL
• Border Awareness: El Paso, TX
• Community Development: Lima, Peru
• Healthcare: Los Angeles, CA
• Poverty/Racism: New Orleans, LA
• HIV/AIDS: New York City, NY
• Native American Immersion: Oglala Lakota Reservation, Pine Ridge, SD
• The Justice System/Literacy: San Francisco, CA
• Exploring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Marylan

2009 Application Process

• 2009 Participant applications will be available October 2008.

For more information, contact Mei-Yen Hui at (301) 405-0741 or meiyen@umd.edu.