Alternative Service Breaks Information Fair Tonight

The theme of this year’s Alternative Service Breaks program is Where’s ASB? a riff on the popular Where’s Waldo? children’s book series. Graphic by Abe Fleischer

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about spring break—especially if you’re interested in volunteering with BU’s popular Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) program (formerly known as Alternative Spring Breaks).

Founded in 1988, ASB, run by BU’s Community Service Center, offers students the opportunity to travel to more than three dozen locations across the United States and Puerto Rico to volunteer with nonprofits working in such areas as children, affordable housing, hunger, education, public health, LGBTQ+, and disabilities. In addition to these spring trips, students can volunteer over winter intersession, scheduled for the week of January 9, with the Gavin Foundation, a multiservice agency in Boston providing substance abuse treatment, education, and prevention.

Tonight you can learn more about participating in the ASB January and spring programs during an information fair at the George Sherman Union Back Court from 7 to 9 p.m.

More than 450 students participated in ASB last year. “We’re very happy with the turnout of volunteers we had last year,” say CiCi Flanagan (Questrom’17) and Josh Shelofsky (ENG’16), this year’s program managers. “We hope to provide service of a similar magnitude this year.”

As program managers, they are responsible for hiring and training the 76 student coordinators who will lead this year’s 37 confirmed spring trips, each aiming to address a specific social issue—from creating affordable housing to working on environmental projects to promoting public health. Among the new sites planned for this year: the YMCA of Western North Carolina in Asheville, where students will work in the Youth Services division; Friedman Place, a home for the visually impaired in Chicago; and the National Park Service in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, where volunteers will help maintain trails and campsites. Depending on the location, travel will be by public transit, van, or plane. Each trip typically comprises 11 to 15 participants, including 2 trip coordinators and a chaperone.

“I participated in ASB for the first time last year, when I coordinated a trip to Roanoke, Va.,” says Shelofsky. “I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, but through the course of two 13-hour van rides, a week of cleaning up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and nights of reflection, bowling, and ice cream, I got the chance to bond with 11 amazing individuals that I probably wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t done ASB. I also got to explore a hidden gem of the country that I probably otherwise would have passed by. It was that trip that inspired me to return as program manager this year.”

Flanagan also became a program manager because of her past ASB experience. “My freshman year, I knew I didn’t want to go back home for spring break,” she says, “so I decided to sign up for the ASB trip to Des Moines, Iowa. Going on ASB was hands down the best experience I had that year.”

ASB trip slots fill up quickly, so Flanagan and Shelofsky urge students interested in this year’s program to be ready to register as soon as sign-ups open—9 a.m. on Sunday, November 22—to better their chances of getting their first pick. Trip cost ranges from approximately $300 for trips by bus, van, or train to $1,000 for trips requiring plane travel. Prices include transportation, food, and housing. Accommodations—often provided by the sponsoring organization—vary by location. Some need-based scholarships are available, and those interested should apply during registration.

Tonight’s fair gives interested students the opportunity to learn more about the trips being offered and to meet the coordinators.

“A major focus of our program this year,” say Flanagan and Shelofsky, “is to encourage our volunteers to think about where they’ve been and where they are going. We hope that students take the opportunity to make the most of their winter or spring break by engaging in something powerful, but something that has the potential to be one of the most fun weeks of their lives—we both look back on our ASB experiences as amazing memories.”

Learn more about participating in the Alternative Service Breaks January and spring programs tonight, Tuesday, November 10, at an Info Fair at the George Sherman Union Back Court from 7 to 9 p.m.

Mara Sassoon can be reached at msassoon@bu.edu.