The program sends teams of students around the country and internationally to engage in community service and learn about a variety of social issues. Through these service-learning trips, students will be exposed to new cultural experiences while building leadership and teamwork skills as they network with fellow students.

An informational showcase for the program will be held 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom.

Students will have the opportunity to register for one of five alternative break trips at Lottery Knight on Jan. 30. Students who attend this 6-9 p.m. event in the Student Union’s Cape Florida Ballroom can enter their name in a lottery to determine the order in which they can sign up for the experience of their choice. To RSVP for Jan. 30’s Lottery Knight, .

To sign up for the Alternative Break Program, you must be a Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ student enrolled in at least six credit hours in both Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters. You must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 for undergraduates, or 3.0 for graduates. You also must be free of financial or disciplinary holds on university records, and you may not be on probation for academic or disciplinary reasons.

Domestic trips cost $250 and international trips requiring flight travel cost $550. Prices cover food, lodging and travel for the week.

More information about the program and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at .

Here is a look at this year’s spring break experiences, which will be March 10-16:

Environmental Awareness

West Jefferson, North Carolina
Students will work alongside community partner Woodland Harvest Mountain Farm. Examples of activities include construction of cabins and greenhouses, water and solar-energy installations, animal care and gardening.

International Children’s Outreach

Guyana
Students will work to uphold International Children’s Outreach’s ideals of providing food, clothing, and medical and educational supplies to underprivileged children.

Youth Education Outreach

New Orleans, Louisiana
Students will work with community partner Apex Youth Center, which serves children, teens and young adults with programs involving academic tutoring, mentoring, recreation, community service of their own and training to become leaders and active citizens.

Refugee Relations

Clarkson, Georgia
Students will work with local organizations offering various service-learning opportunities. In addition to learning from the stories and experiences shared by the refugee community, examples of activities include school programming, housing prep and assisting with local business construction.

Community Support

Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
Details of the trip are being finalized.

More than 50 students will travel on one of three trips to Guatemala, Dominican Republic or Costa Rica as part of that connects students with volunteer opportunities across the U.S. and the world.

The program offered its first international volunteer trip in 2013 to San Miguel de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, and since, there’s been a high demand for more, said David Oglethorpe, assistant director of the Office of Student Involvement.

“Going abroad gives students such a change of perspective,” said Danielle Soto, student coordinator of the Costa Rica trip. “It shows us the privileges we have here, how deep some social issues can run and how these issues vary in different parts of the world.”

One of the forefront animal-rights issues in the United States, for example, is a push to adopt rescue animals instead of buying from pet stores or a breeder, Soto said. However, in Costa Rica, the focus is on curtailing illegal trade of exotic animals and habitat deforestation, she said.

Students volunteering in San Miguel, Costa Rica will work in an animal-rescue center dedicated to the rehabilitation of wildlife. In Antigua, Guatemala, students will help teach English, build tilapia ponds so the community can have a direct food source, and will help build stoves that use less wood to reduce the burden on the Guatemalan forests. In Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, students will work with at-risk children and women to help teach them new art skills and how to sell their art.

About another 60 students will travel across the eastern United States to volunteer with organizations that address homelessness, hunger, human trafficking, refugee resettlement, the environment and more. These trips span from Roanoke, Va., to Nashville, Tenn., to Key West, Fla.

The Alternative Break Program has been offered at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ for about 20 years, said Haley Winston, assistant director of the Office of Student Involvement. It’s run by Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and is funded by the Student Government Association, which sponsors a portion of the trips. Students pay $250 for domestic spring break trips and $550 for international trips.

Alternative Break Program also connects students with volunteer trips during winter break and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to experience places outside of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and Orlando,” Oglethorpe said.

Akasha Palou, a senior studying biology, planned the 10-person trip that centers on volunteering for FundaciĂłn CAP, an organization that helps low-income families with children who have cancer. Its services span from help with medical bills and family counseling, to a lodge where families can stay for free near Centro MĂ©dico de Puerto Rico, the hospital where children in the program are treated. The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ volunteers from Dec. 13-19 will help with maintenance around the lodge, plus organize a Christmas party for the families and patients to lift their spirits.

Fundación CAP’s work hits close to home for Palou, a Puerto Rico native whose family struggled financially when her father was unemployed for two years. Her family of nine lived in a rented house near San Juan that had no electricity or running water when she was a teenager.

“That’s why I chose this trip. I understand it can be hard to pay for things you need,” said Palou, who added Puerto Rico’s economic recession has increased the demand for organizations such as Fundación CAP. Puerto Rico has more than $70 billion of debt and a nearly 12 percent unemployment rate, spurring some schools and hospitals to close.

Her father’s job search led the family to Washington State and then to Palm Bay, Fla., while Palou was in high school. When her father was laid off from a job at Microsoft, the family returned to Puerto Rico to be near family and live in a low-cost environment. Constantly moving and having to make new friends made Palou more extraverted and volunteer regularly with animal shelters and church organizations.

“All the changes I went through and challenges with my family showed me that’s why I needed to go to college – to make a career and make a change,” said Palou, a recipient of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s Think 30 Scholarship and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ Grant.

Palou aspires to be a pediatric oncologist, inspired by her younger brother Jean-Paul who has had Tourette’s syndrome since he was 6 years old.

“A frustration of mine and my parents is Tourette’s syndrome doesn’t have a cure and it is unknown what causes it. I remember going from hospital to hospital, trying to find a physician who really cared and was most interested in his well-being. That frustration reminded me that kids with cancer go through this every day. I want to be one of the physicians who care,” Palou said.

The volunteer trip to Puerto Rico is part of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s that sponsors students during winter and spring breaks. Students pay $500 for international trips, $250 for domestic trips and $100 for trips during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The remainder of the cost is covered by Alternative Break Programs’ budget that stems from an Activity and Service Fee, said Chantel Carter, associate director of the Office of Student Involvement.

Alternative Break Program has given Palou an outlet to spur change, and as a program coordinator, designs and plans trips from scratch with a nearly $5,000 budget.

“I’m honored. I proposed this idea [to volunteer in Puerto Rico] not thinking it was going to go through,” she said. “For them to trust me with this, I think it furthers our student body’s potential to ignite volunteerism. I’m very happy I can do this in my hometown and help people I love.”

Although Palou’s family has improved financially and now lives comfortably in a home they own in Puerto Rico, Palou’s desire to help has not faded.

“There are people out there who need help more than we ever did,” she said.

That sense of optimism can be felt in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ students, many of whom are forgoing sandy beaches during spring break this week in favor of participating in one of the 11 service activities of the a initiative, or working with independent groups.

Two years ago, finance and economics senior Casey Field was working with orphanages in Guatemala to help disadvantaged and disabled children. This year she will travel to the Dominican Republic with Project Esperanza, rebuilding more than 62 homes burned down by fire, working with local craftswomen, and leading sex-education classes.

“When presented with the opportunity to go, I immediately said yes,” Field said. “Being able to learn from a community of women in the DR, experience a new culture, and serve with so many fellow Knights is the most rewarding way I can imagine spending my spring break.”

Nhu Nguyen, a human resources major and SGA senator, is volunteering her time in Alabama packaging healthy meals for hungry children in the United States and refugees at the Syria-Turkey border as a part of Feeding Children Everywhere.

“I joined FCE for experience but I stayed for another semester because I believe in their mission,” Nguyen said. “For each ‘hunger project,’ we get to assemble between 30,000 and 100,000 meals for children, for both local and international food pantries. It is quite an experience seeing the direct impact of what we are doing.”

It’s not just undergraduate students joining in the spring break volunteerism.

Graduate volunteers from the DeVos Sport Business Management program are headed to New Orleans as part of the , founded by the program director, Richard Lapchick. Fourteen students will help rebuild homes in the Lower Ninth Ward that were affected by Hurricane Katrina and assist with drywall, painting and flooring.

“Volunteering allows me to leave my personal worries behind and see that there’s a greater need out there, and that I can make a profound difference in people’s lives,” said graduate assistant Sara Sanchez.

Nine students were chosen to attend the Alternative Break Program trip: Julie Deslauriers, David Dill, Clarence Emile, Casey Field, Meghan Ginn, Yejide Giwa, Amy Maitner, Karen Rodriguez and Maya Rose.

Junior finance major Casey Field acted as student coordinator for the trip after going to Guatemala with the Alternative Break Program last year. This year she chose the social issue, destination, volunteer events and travel arrangements. She also organized fundraisers and educational discussions to inform the team before the trip.

“We got to see the first slave mart in Charleston and the brothel across the street, something that seemed so historic but presented an image of the 38.5 billion people still trapped in slavery,”

Field said. Field said the real issue in Charleston wasn’t just the trafficking. “The issue is children growing up in broken households, children that lack confidence, and children that lack mentors,” she explained. To help with this, they worked with a military-base youth camp as well.

“When we asked what we could do to help, one of the main responses was that we need to start tackling insecurities with children early in life, so we made sure to encourage all of the children we worked with,” said graduate assistant for the LEAD Scholars Academy, Whitney Watkins, who served as an advisor to the trip.

The participants also created something to bring home from the trip: a video that encourages others to stand up and end slavery. It can be watched here:

The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, in the honors college lobby, and it will showcase organizations that are part of the Honors Educational Reach Out, or HERO, program.

The fair is a chance for all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ students to learn about different volunteer programs focusing on hunger and homelessness, health and wellness, legal issues, animal rights, the environment, and education.

There also will be information about the Alternative Break Program and Achieve a College Education Day, an annual honors college event that brings 500 fifth graders to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and shows them the benefits of attending college.

“When you are engaged in the community, you are experiencing real world issues,” said Kelly Astro, director of Research and Civic Engagement for the honors college. “Not only are you gaining a different perspective from being out in the community and working with people that might be a little different from you, but you are realizing how your particular field of study can make an impact, and it makes for a more well-rounded student.”

During the 2013-14 academic year, the honors college had 1,052 volunteers who contributed more than 24,000 civic engagement hours to 28 different schools and community organizations.

For more information about the Civic Engagement Fair and other volunteer opportunities, contact Astro at Kelly.Astro@ucf.edu.

Part of Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝, the Alternative Break Program offers volunteer opportunities and trips for students throughout the year to take part in service projects in different communities and learn about social issues.

Each group includes eight student participants, a faculty advisor and a student site leader.

“I have participated in four trips and am leading the Teach for America trip to Mississippi this Spring Break,” said Brittney Osterhoudt, student director of the Alternative Break Program. “Each trip is a new experience that is truly life-altering.”

“I gain more awareness each time and learn something new about myself. These trips truly change lives—those in the communities served and the volunteers. One thing that amazes me is every time I serve, I gain much more than I give, which I think everyone who attends a trip would agree with.”

This Spring Break, the Alternative Break Program offers 14 different trips in eight states and Guatemala.

Some of these trips include:

Learn more about the and future trips.

Each trip for Alternative Spring Break included eight participants, one student site leader and a faculty advisor. Students had to apply for the programs online and attend group and individual interviews.

This year, there were 12 spring break trips.

Shelby Olson, health director for Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝, travelled to Costa Rica and shared her experience. “In Costa Rica, I was fortunate to not only volunteer in the small town San Miguel de Sarapiqui, but also become immersed in the culture,” said Olson. “I bonded with my host family and made lifelong friends. I learned how to plant coffee and fish for tilapia, with my volunteer group. As a group, we were able to bring donated dresses to girls in primary school, help restore nature trails with translated signs, and reconstruct bridge trails. From this experience, I learned that I am capable of doing more to improve myself and the world around me than I realize. I also learned that our life experiences truly shape us more than we could ever imagine. I am truly an advocate for learning about ourselves through service and giving more than we receive. Service is a civic responsibility, and we have so much power to do good. As students, we are very fortunate to be provided an education that we can use to change the world.”

Several students are repeat volunteers, including Sammantha Pendergast, Alternative Break Program director. “I fell in love with the ideas and potential the program had to offer,” said Pendergast, a senior who will traveled her third trip. “Students gain a deeper understanding of the various social issues that surround us on a daily basis. They become empowered to raise awareness and provide higher quality care to the community.”

Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ expanded their Alternative Break Program to Fall, Winter and Spring breaks in order to make a greater impact. For more information, visit osi.ucf.edu/abp.

Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ is an agency of Office of Student Involvement in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

Olson and eight other students will travel to San Miguel de Sarapiqui to volunteer on an organic coffee farm and work with children at three primary schools as part of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s Alternative Break Program.

The program sends teams of students around the country—and for the first time this year, international—to engage in community service and learn about social issues as they grow as individuals and impact lives.

“I think it’s important for students to be involved with service, no matter whether it is a week-long experience or a day-long experience,” said Olson. “Taking a week to do something for others is a great way to learn about yourself and reflect on what you want out of your future.”

Olson, who is active in community service through Volunteer Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝, created a partnership with the organization Dressed in Hope, which sews handmade dresses and dolls for impoverished young girls. Through the partnership, students on Olson’s trip will donate dresses prepared at October’s Knights Give Back campus service day to the girls in Costa Rica. The students have also collected soccer balls for the young boys.

The Alternative Break Program offers a variety of volunteer opportunities during spring and winter breaks and a long weekend in the fall. This year, there are 12 spring break trips.

Each trip includes eight participants, one student site leader and a faculty advisor. Students must apply for the programs online and attend group and individual interviews.

Several students are repeat volunteers, including Alternative Break Program Director Sammantha Pendergast.

“I fell in love with the ideas and potential the program had to offer,” said Pendergast, a senior who will make her third trip next week. “Students gain a deeper understanding of the various social issues that surround us on a daily basis. They become empowered to raise awareness and provide higher quality care to the community.”

For more information about the Alternative Break Program, visit .